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■■■■■■ ^ ■"■ ■■■■■■:':^--^*'»;^%:m:mm
'"""mB§.
by Dr. Franklin S. Harris, Jr.
Tibet Water Power Potential
Dr. Hans Tliir-
ring, Austrian
physicist, in his
Energy for Man
has called atten-
tion to the little
publicized greatest
water-power op-
portunity in the
world at the
Tsangpo bend in
Eastern Tibet. The
Tsangpo River as it is called in Tibet
is then called the Dihang then the
Brahmaputra before it joins the
Ganges River and empties into the
Gulf of Bengal and the Indian
Ocean. By constructing a dam and
a 10 mile tunnel a drop of 7000 feet
would be available and an annual
flow of around 14 cubic miles of
water would produce about three
times the total hydroelectric power
of the United States. Dr. Thirring
suggests that a joint Pakistanian, In-
dian, Tibetan, and Chinese project
with United Nations technical and
economic assistance could make the
project a reality within two or three
generations.
Barnacles
Barnacles attach themselves to the
hulls of ships and rocks and make a
limestone shell. There are, however,
barnacles which are found only on
the shells of turtles, and others
which are especially adapted to cling
to the bodies of whales, and some
which attach themselves to the bod-
ies of sharks and dogfish.
OCTOBER 1959
Saltines by PURITY
FIRST CHOICE
FOR FLAVOR...
More Saltines by Purity
are bought and enjoyed than all other brands
combined in the Salt Lake Metropolitan Area
There is nothing new about this. For many years, Saltines by PURITY
have been the run-away best seller in this market, according to
the annual Deseret News-Telegram-Tribune Consumer Analysis.
Latest figures show that 52.7% of all families who buy soda crackers
choose Saltines by PURITY, with 47.3% divided among
the nine other brands.
Quite a tribute to Purity's flavor and quality!
If you haven't tried Saltines by
PURITY lately, pick up a carton next
time you shop and see
if you don't agree with most
other people.
• Made in the only
cracker and cookie
factory between
Denver and the
Pacific Coast
PURITY BISCUIT COMPANY
your favorite grocer's
in I and 2 pound cartons
Salt Lake • Phoenix • Pocatello
713
The Improvement Era
The Voice of the Church
Contents for October 1959
Volume 62, Number 10
Official organ of the Priesthood
Quorums, Mutual Improvement
Associations, Ward Teachers, Music
Committee, Department of Education,
and other agencies of the
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
Church Features
Editor's Page: "Whate'er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part"
President David O. McKay 726
Your Question: The Three Days of Darkness, President Joseph Fielding Smith 728
President Levi Edgar Young— Fifty Years of Service, Albert L. Zobell, Jr 742
The Comparative Method— VIII, Hugh Nibley _. 744
The Church Moves On, 718; Presiding Bishopric's Page, 780; Melchizedek Priesthood: Are Your
Servicemen Forgotten Men? 782.
Special Features
What's the Hurry?— I, Hugh B. Brown 729
Tobacco and Cancer of the Lung, Alton Ochsner, M.D 732
"Today, Today I Am a Man," W. Cleon Skousen 740
Creating Classroom Atmosphere, Paul H. Dunn 748
Sweeping that Long Driveway, Ruth C. Ikerman . . 752
ART AND PHOTO CREDITS:
The Spoken Word from Temple Square, Richard L. Evans 720, 762, 770 Bin Ratciiffe, cover
Era Staff, 713, 716, 726, 728, 729,
Exploring the Universe, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., 713; These Times: Thaw in the Cold War,
G. Homer Durham, 716; Letters and Reports, 722.
Today's Family: Florence B. Pinnock
Teacher Treats 774
On Being a Lady 777
A Practical Plan for Food Storage, George S. Nelson 768
The Last Word 784
Stories, Poetry
Kayaks Down the Nile— I, John M. Goddard 736
Women of the Mormon Battalion, Mabel Harmer 750
Poetry 720, 746, 747, 754, 755, 756, 758, 760, 765, 766, 771, 776
732, 743, 745, 749, 750, 751, 752,
774, 777, 778, 780, 782, 784
Max Tharpe, 730
John Goddard, 736, 738
H. Armstrong Roberts, 740, 741
Dale Kilhourn, art, 737
Harold M. Lambert, 774
The Improvement Era Offices, 50 North Mam Street, Salt Lake City 11, Utah
David O. McKay and Richard L. Evans, Editors; Doyle L. Green, Managing Editor; Marba C. Josephson, Associate Managing Editor; Elizabeth J. Moffitt,
Production Editor; Albert L. Zobell, Jr., Research Editor; John G. Kinneab, Editorial Associate; Florence B. Pinnock, Today's Family Editor; Ralph Reynolds
and Ed Marygn, Art Directors.
Archibald F. Bennett, G. Homer Durham, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Milton R. Hunter, Huch Nibley, Sidney B. Sperry, Contributing Editors.
Joseph T. Bentley, General Manager; Bertha S. Reeder, Associate General Manager; Verl F. Scott, Business Manager; A. Clen Snarr, Subscription Director;
Thayer Evans, Regional Advertising Representative.
Copyright 1959 by Mutual Funds, Inc., and published by the Mutual Improvement Associations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights
reserved. Subscription price, $2.50 a year, in advance; foreign subscriptions, $3.00 a year, in advance; 25c single copy, except for special issues.
Entered at the Post Office, Salt Late City, Utah as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103. Act
of October 1917, authorized July 2, 1918.
The Improvement Era is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts but welcomes contributions. Manuscripts are paid for on acceptance at the rate of P/fec
a word and must be accompanied by sufficient postage for delivery and return.
Thirty days' notice is required for change ol address. When ordering a change, please include address slip from a recent issue of the magazine. Address
changes cannot be made unless the old address as well as the new one is included.
THE COVER:
"Salem Pond," an autumn
pastoral setting, is the
photographic art of Bill
Ratciiffe of Orem, Utah.
Cover lithographed in full color
by Deseret News Press.
714
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
1. I Saw Another Angel Fly ■■ New!
Excellent IDS history written especially for teen-agers* and young
people. Vocabulary used is simple byf most effective m presenting
clear concept of historical events and gospel principles. .. $3.50
4. Make Your Genealogical Work
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E. Kay Kirkham
Classified and compiled scriptures important in missionary work,
teaching and study of the Restored Gospel. Cards are 3" x 5"
with file tabs for easy reference.
Set A — Set of 300 cards $2.95
Set B — Set of 500 cards $4.95
DESERET BOOK COMPANY
44 East South Temple * Salt Lake City, Utah
Gentlemen-. Enclosed you will find Q check Q money order Q I have
an occounf. Please charge. Amounts enclosed $ for encircled
(numbered) books: 1 2 3 ' (a) (b) 4 (a) (bj (c)
Name
City
Residents of Utoh include 2H% soles lax.
OCTOBER 1959
715
The rich, ripe, savory goodness of
fall is packed in the "S" brand fruits
and vegetables for Safeway customers
to enjoy the year around.
Last year Safeway purchased $5,-
079,784 worth of choice fruits and
vegetables from Utah and Idaho
farms. These included: apples, peach-
es, pears, prunes, potatoes, tomatoes,
corn, beans, peas and pumpkins along
with others.
Many of these products were sold
in Safeway Stores in Utah and Idaho.
Many others were shipped to other
states, providing new markets for sur-
plus products.
Through its "S" brands Safeway
makes available the finest products of
local farms for local shoppers and also
helps the Utah-Idaho farmers market
their surplus crops.
FRIEND OF THE FAMILY
FRIEND OF THE FARMER
SAFEWAY
These Times
THAW
In the Cold War
by G. Homer Durham
Vice President, University of Utah
The "big thaw" in the cold war
seemed to come in the summer of
1959. The immediate occasion, to
observers in the United States, was
the visit of Vice President Richard
M. Nixon to Russia. Nine governors
of nine states of the American union
visited Moscow on the eve of Mr.
Nixon's visit. Mr. Herter, Mr.
Gromyko, and the foreign ministers
of France and the United Kingdom
met in Geneva from May until Au-
gust. There was much talk at
Geneva. The future of Germany
was the principal subject. Berlin
remains as it was. The Geneva
talks accomplished little but talk.
Yet the "big thaw" was apparent in
the heat of August.
Walter Lippman coined the
phrase "the cold war" in 1946. The
phrase was an effort to describe the
tension between the USSR and the
western powers. Earlier, Lippman
wrote his book, US Foreign Policy.
Here he opined that the world could
be better off after World War II
than in 1918. The reasons were
simple. There was no fundamental
conflict of physical interests between
the United States and the Soviet
Union. To be sure there were
cultural differences.
As US Foreign Policy came from
the press, a rupture occurred in
British-Russian discussions over the
proposed Polish boundary. By April
1945, the new President Truman and
his Secretary of State, James F.
Byrnes, were conscious of the fu-
ture difficulties. Since then we
have seen the Marshall Plan, NATO,
missile-rearmament, and all the fea-
tures of the cold war, including the
tremendous fear of the power of
communist doctrine.
What has caused the shift towards
the feeling evidenced by midsummer
of 1959? Was it Gromyko's flight
from Geneva to attend the funeral of
John Foster Dulles in May? Was it
the opening of the Russian exposi-
tion in New York? The American
counterpart in Moscow? The visit
of the governors? Of Mikoyan,
Koslov, and Nixon? The announce-
ment, August 3, 1959, that President
Eisenhower would visit Russia, and
that Premier Nikita Khruschev
would (Continued on page 771)
716
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
' t /(;
Police Chief Skousen at the training grounds of the Salt Lake City Police Canine Corps.
Postum is the natural whole-grain drink
that warms the heart
Have a cup of friendship . . . have a cup of Postum. So many
leading citizens do. Postum is made from whole-grain cereals,
slow-roasted to bring out a rich, satisfying flavor. It's hearty,
healthful, hospitable.
Postum is 100% coffee-free, contains no caffein or other
artificial stimulants. Ready in an instant, it's always welcome.
Make sure you always have Postum on hand.
100% coffee-free
Another fine product of General Foods
POSTUI*
OCTOBER 1959
717
a few steps
from the
TEMPLE
GROUNDS...
. . . and your car is
parked but a few
steps from your room.
Every comfort and
convenience
Free radio and television
Reasonable rates
Inviting swimming pool
(during summer season)
Family-style
"Crossroads" restaurant
Next time you drive to Salt
Lake, be sure to plan the
extra pleasure of staying at
the
HOTEL UTAH
MOTOR LODGE
Max Carpenter, Mgr.
718
The Church
Moves On
July 1959
The First Presidency announced the appointment of Elder
Warren E. Pugh, bishop of the Holladay Eighth Ward,
Holladay (Utah) Stake, as president of the Northern Cali-
fornia Mission, succeeding President J. Leonard Love. President
Pugh is a former member of the Stratford (Salt Lake City) bishop-
ric and a former member of the high council of the Holladay Stake.
Mrs. Pugh and their two sons, Lorin and Donald, will accompany
him to his field of labor. They also have a married daughter, Mrs.
Robert C. (Carol Jean) Matheson.
August 1959
The appointment of Dr. Richard T. Wootton as president
of the Church College of Hawaii was announced by the
Pacific Board of Education under the direction of the First
Presidency. Dr. Wootton has been serving as acting administrator
of the college for the past year and previously was a member of
the faculty there for three years. He has taught in the Church
seminaries in Salt Lake City.
"America's Witness for Christ," the Book of Mormon pageant
began its eighteenth annual presentation at the Hill Cumorah
near Palmyra, New York.
"America's Witness for Christ" was again performed at the
Hill Cumorah.
Announcement was made that the Bee Hive House, on
State and South Temple streets, would be restored as far
as possible to its condition in 1877— the year that President
Brigham Young died. The house was his home. After the
restoration of the building, it will be opened to the public.
The final performance of "America's Witness for Christ," was
presented at the Hill Cumorah. Ideal weather was enjoyed during
all three evenings. This year's performances were attended by
more people than ever before.
The First Presidency announced the formation of the Bra-
zilian South Mission from portions of the Brazilian Mission,
and the appointment of Elder Asael T. Sorensen, a former
president of the Brazilian Mission, as president of the new mission.
Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council of the Twelve will go to South
America to direct the organization of both the new Andes Mission,
announced earlier, and the Brazilian South Mission. President
Sorensen has a home in South San Gabriel, California. He was
released as president of the Brazilian Mission in December 1958
after serving for five years. He had previously been a missionary
to Brazil from 1940 to 1942. In East Los Angeles Stake he has
served as a stake missionary, as president of a quorum of seventy,
and as head of the stake mission. Mrs. Sorensen and their children
will again go to Brazil with them. The Brazilian South Mission
comprises Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul states
of that nation. It is a Portuguese-speaking area.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
VALUABLE
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BOOKCRAFT
MISSIONARY
DUO
Just the thing for missionaries to record their priceless spiritual
experiences: two richly bound binders attractively packaged in
smart gift box. The Missionary Notebook, official size with
6-rings, is ideal for recording talks, scriptures, and valuable
notes. The Missionary Diary can be kept in longhand or on a
typewriter. Unique multi-ring expandable binder for insertion
or withdrawal of sheets as needed. Beautifully illustrated; em-
bossed with gold; 200 pages of lined or plain paper; and 3
clear acetate sheets for photos, programs, etc $7.50
I
Packaged in a handy poeketsiie
plastic folder, the famous com-
parative chart from the book, "His
Many Mansions", is now avail-
able for constant reference. This
valuable chart shows the impor-
tant doctrinal beliefs of 1 3 leading
Christian denominations 75 <
,*S«!
4
THE MUSTARD SEED by Lucy Gertch Thomson
Here is the intriguing tale of Linda and Larry and how their
lives were changed by the story brought to them by the
missionaries. Thru laughter and tears, these young teenagers
learn the fundamentals of the gospel and blossom into
young adulthood. Excellent reading for all ages $1.00
MORMONS AND THEIR
TEMPLES
By Gwen Marier Barney
This interesting little pamphlet ex-
plains to all the world what a
temple is . . . what it is used for . . .
temple sizes . . . and unique fea-
tures.It also contains a sparkling
historical sketch (with pictures) of
each of the 1 4 IDS temples, point-
ing out interesting sidelights on
the erection of each ...754
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ENTIRELY NEW BINDING PRINCIPLE
Specially designed for opening and closing thousands of
times, this vastly improved binding mechanism will not
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market today.
Blue, Black or White with gold lettering $5.00 retail
Gold Overtone on Brown, Black or white $6.00 retail
BOOKCRAFT
1186 South Main, Salt Lake City, Utah
Please send the following circled books for which I enclose
check ( ) or money order ( ) for: $
12 3 4
Book of Remembrance Binder $5 ( ) $6 ( )
choice of color
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE..
-J
OCTOBER 1959
719
YOUR
SALT LAKE
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Choice of 4 mills,
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Lee Engineering Co., Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin
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( ) Deaf Smith Flour, 5-lb. pkg., PPd. only $1.50
( ) Wis.-Minn. Flour, 5-lb. pkg., PPd. only $1.00
Name
Street
City State
THE
SPOKEN
WORD
Happiness — and the Paradox
of Comparison
Richard L. Evans
A sentence written some two or more centuries
ago is significant in the search for the happiness
that all of us so much seek. "If one only wished
to be happy," it says, "this could be easily accom-
plished; but we wish to be happier than other
people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be
happier than they are."1 This suggests, of course, that the com-
parative element always enters in— that we are happy or unhappy
merely by comparison with other people— with what others are
or aren't, with what others have or haven't. This paradox is both
fact and fallacy, because for real happiness, there must be some
set standards, some basic essentials. Yet neither can we quite keep
out comparisons. In the later years of the late world war, the
latest models of many things were old and outdated, by present
comparisons. Yet if we had the latest, we felt comparatively
pleased— until later and better things again began to be. Then
what we had was soon again not good enough. This is not neces-
sarily a negative quality of character. We ought to want progress
and improvement. We ought, in a reasonable way, to want not
only the better but the best. And a controlled, intelligent, dis-
content is a constructive quality of character, and a complete com-
placency is a negative quality of character. But if we make our-
selves unhappy, or run ourselves deeply into debt, or restlessly
run from place to place, simply for comparative purposes, we shall
not likely find the peace, the happiness, the contentment, the ac-
complishment we so much seek. And when the discontent of
wanting something is with us, we should be sure it is something
worth wanting. We should be discontented with ignorance. We
should seek wisdom, understanding, seek learning, "even by study
and also by faith."2 We should seek improvement both of mind
and of matter, and be grateful for gifts and talents and opportuni-
ties and all the Lord God has given. But because we can't be
everything that everyone else is, or have everything that everyone
else has, we should not brood about it. Nobody has everything
that everybody else has. To conclude with our opening quote:
"If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished;
but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always
difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are."1
"The Spoken Word," from Temple Square presented over KSL and the
Columbia Broadcasting System, August 9, 1959. Copyright 1959.
:Charles de Secondat Montesquieu.
2D&C 88:118.
UNBURNED CANDLE
by Helen Myrtis
If you keep your candle new,
You keep the darkness, too.
Only lighted, giving itself away,
Does it hold your hope toward day.
720
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
ntoTEcnoif
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UTAH OIL REFINING CO.
OCTOBER 1959
721
MISSING
SOMETHING?
You are missing something
in your diet if you're not
taking NEO-LIFE, the only
whole food supplement.
NEO-LIFE, with its exclusive
Tre-en-en research grain
base, contains not just
vitamins or minerals, but
all the nutrients needed
for happy, healthy, full
living.
Science tells us there are millions
of people who exist in a "twilight
zone" of health ... not sick, but
not really well, either. If you an
one of these you owe it to yourself
to get the most out of living.
Now is the time to Investi-
gate NEO-LIFE! You won't
find NEO-LIFE in drug
stores; it is available only
through authorized distribu-
tors . . . perhaps one of your
friends or neighbors.
For the address of the NEO-LIFE
dealer in your area, or to learn
the possibility of your becoming a
full- or part-time NEO-LIFE dis-
tributor, just fill out and mail the
coupon below.
COMPANY OF AMERICA
NEO-LIFE CO. OF AMERICA
Fred Alddredge, Rt. 1, Box 333C, Sandy, lit
o, I "1 the name of the Neo-LHe
Please I I
send me
distributor in my area
1 — 'aNi
its on my becoming
eo-Life distributor
Name
Address.
City
Zone-
State
Letters
and
Reports
Susan Watson, daughter of Elder Os-
wald Ezra and Mrs. Margaret Tarbet
Watson of Duncan Ward, Park ( Salt Lake
City) Stake, has completed the require-
ments for all ninety badges in her Bee-
hive work, taking an average of twelve
hours for each badge.
At the age of five Susan and her family
immigrated to Canada from Australia.
When she was ten, the family moved from
Canada to Salt Lake City where they are
presently residing.
Susan has taught Primary in the sum-
mer, teaching knitting and crocheting.
She is an active member of Sunday School
and MIA and was recently graduated into
the ninth grade of Roosevelt Junior High
school.
Mesa, Arizona
Dear Editors:
I am writing to tell you of what I call
a missionary family. William Winterton
was converted to the LDS Church in
England and came to Utah in the 60's.
He had a family of fourteen children and
has helped many a missionary. He lived
to see one son go back to his native land
and fulfil a mission. He also had thirty-
five of his own family, including children
and grandchildren who have been on
missions and are now at home, also at
the present time he has in the mission
field, viz. a son and wife, one grandson
and wife, two granddaughters and their
husbands, one great granddaughter, and
ten great grandsons, making a total of
nineteen out now and thirty-five that have
returned home.
I feel this a remarkable record.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sheila C.
Winterton
B.F.P.O. 53, England
Dear Sir:
It is a great pleasure to receive the
Era in Cyprus. Maintaining the excellent
standard it is renowned for over the years
is truly an earmark of the sincerity and
faith of all those engaged in its publication.
Thank you—!
Never an uninteresting page, always the
joy of good reading, inspiring articles. . . .
Indeed the Era is a living reminder of
the instructions: ". . . yea, seek ye out of
the best books words of wisdom; seek
learning, even by study and also by faith."
Receiving the Millennial Star along with
the Era I was most interested in last
month's copy depicting the building pro-
gram. Both very timely articles, and
excellent in layout. Thank you again for
a wonderful publication.
Very sincerely,
Leonard C. Morley
Ogden, Utah
Dear Editors:
"Where, oh, where has our poetry page
gone.
"Oh, where, oh where can it be?"
This page added such nice variety to
our wonderful magazine. A poem tells
so much in such a short space. I looked
forward to this page in every issue. So
many of my friends have told me how
much they enjoyed it, too, and are so sorry
it has been discontinued.
"So bring back, oh, bring back."
Oh, bring back the poetry page if you
possibly can, dear editors.
Thank you for this special magazine.
Sincerely yours,
Leone E. McCune
722
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
MAN ! WHAT A WONDERFUL FEELING
...the way you feel when you make a great golf shot
...the way you feel when you drive with
PHILLIPS 66 FLITE-FUEL
Some men get their kicks out of golf. Others like the feel of a gamefish on
the line. But nearly everyone gets a thrill out of a fine automobile, perform-
ing at its peak with today's great Phillips 66 Flite-Fuel. Yes, you will feel
the difference in ease of starting, in acceleration, in engine smoothness at
all speeds. In a gasoline, it's performance that counts! And Phillips 66 Flite-
Fuel gives you a combination of high performance components you get,
from no other gasoline.
J?i Petfotmhce fat couhfcl
OCTOBER 1959
723
West Coast Airlines — now connecting Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Logan
with over 50 principal cities throughout the Pacific West. Featuring F-27
prop-jet airliners to and from Salt Lake ©ifcy and Boise via Twin Falls,
WEST C Off ST MRlinES
BENNETT'S KRILI-KOTE
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Open and stir
Paint your walls
Clean up with water
No Turpentine . No Solvents • No Fumes • No Mess!
Thins with water. BENNETT'S KRILI-KOTE is a tough, wash-
able wall paint available in 1,322 Colorizer colors.
PAINTS
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65 W. 1st South — 21st So. & 2nd West and Bennett's branches
and dealers in the Intermountain area and Southern California
Mrs. Millie Cheesman and daughter
Lee Ann (above) wearing costumes for
the "Pioneer Day— Spirit of '59" celebra-
tion held in Miami, Florida.
The Miami Second Branch in the South
Florida District of the Southern States
Mission planned the celebration to raise
funds for their new building. The event
was well publicized in the newspapers,
and a local television station televised the
old-time relays, tug-of-war, and pie-eat-
ing contest.
A tableau and music by the branch
chorus depicted scenes called "A Camp
Circle on the Plains," "Nearing the Moun-
tains," and "Brigham Young Looking at
a Silhouette of the Salt Lake Temple."
In the evening an old-time "hoe-down"
featured authentic square dances. Home-
made pies, jams, and bread were washed
down with punch from a wooden barrel.
The affair, a two month continuous
effort of eighty members of one little
branch, was witnessed by an estimated
crowd of 650.
Birmingham, England
How good it is to see Hugh Nibley
back in harness again! Now here's a man
that opens new horizons to my mind! One
thing does bother me, though: where on
earth does he find the time to read all
those books so impressively listed in the
bibliography at the end of each article?
Yours sincerely,
Derek Dixon
Kanapolis, N. C.
Dear Editors:
724
I hope Police Chief Skousen is going
to publish a book about boys. His articles
in the Era have been a light in the dark-
ness to us— the parents of boys 12, 7, 4,
and 2 months. We'll be his first customers.
It's getting so when our 12-year-old per-
plexes us we say, "Now what does Mr.
Skousen say?"
Very sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Barringer
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Baking "cookies" for better roads
"Cookies" Of asphalt paving are baked and frozen
in our laboratories, so we can measure how highways
wear in all types of weather.
The man is William H. Ellis, one of Standard's
scientists who conduct many such tests to improve high-
way materials and construction methods. We actually
build roads, subject them to crushing pressure, try out
many paving mixes, work closely with highway engineers.
Our work benefits you both as a motorist and a tax-
payer. Asphalt costs less than any other pavement . . .
three miles of highway for the cost of two. You also get
roads that resist skids, cut down glare, make lane markers
easier to see . . . roads which are smooth, quiet and
comfortable.
Asphalt highways are ready for use within hours after
laying . . . cost less to maintain and can be even stronger
and better after years of service.
By such continuing research that brings you better
products at lower cost, the people at Standard are
planning ahead to serve you better.
Standard's asphalt products are made and sold by American
Bitumuls & Asphalt Company,
a wholly-owned subsidiary .
0'^DFlRSTCENTUftV
^£N in freedom
STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA
OCTOBER 1959
725
--..
Editor's Page
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'
-■:■■■-■:■:■■:•:■:■:.:■.■ ■
ii
Whatever thou art,
by President David O. McKay
In my study I have a little book that contains what
I call "literary nuggets," taken from Church works,
from poets, writers such as Scott, Burns, Longfellow,
and others. May I share several of them with you?
"The greatest battle of life is fought within the
silent chambers of the soul."
I ask you fellow workers of the Church to do again
what undoubtedly you have done frequently— sit
down and commune with yourself. Life is a battle
for you and for me each day. Fight this battle with
yourself, and decide upon your course of action re-
garding what your duty is to your family, to your
Church, and to your fellow men.
Associated on that page was this comment found
in The Simple Life: "First, be of your own country,
your own city, your own home, . . . your own work-
shop. Then, if you can, set out from this to go be-
yond it. That is the plain and natural order, and a
man must fortify himself with very valid reasons to
arrive at reversing it. Each one is occupied with
something else too often than what concerns him.
He is absent from his post. He ignores his trade.
That is what complicates life, and it would be so
simple for each one to be about his own matters."
Decide what your duty is, ever remembering that
the greatest battle of life is fought within the silent
chambers of your own soul.
The second that I picked out is this: "Whate'er
thou art, act well thy part."
That, of course, applies to moral and lawful en-
deavors, and not to harmful or villainous actions.
That influenced me more than fifty-nine years ago
when, as I have told some of you before, Peter G.
Johnston and I were walking around Stirling Castle
in Scotland. I was discouraged. I was just starting
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
act well thy part
u
my first mission. I had been snubbed that day in
tracting. I was homesick, and we walked around
the Stirling Castle, really not doing our duty. As we
re-entered the town I saw a building, half-finished,
and from the sidewalk to my surprise I saw an in-
scription carved in stone on the lintel of the front door.
I said to Brother Johnston, "I want to go over there
and see what that inscription says." I was not more
than halfway up the pathway leading to it when this
message struck me: "Whate'er thou art, act well thy
part.
As I rejoined my companion and told him what I
had read, do you know what came to my mind first?
the custodian at the University of Utah, from which
school I had just graduated. I realized then that
I had just as great a respect for that man as I had
for any professor in whose class I had sat. He acted
well his part. I recalled how he helped us with the
football suits, how he helped us with some of our
lessons. He was unassuming, unostentatious, but
did his duty well. To this day I hold respect for him.
When an ordinary man is set apart in his com-
munity as a sheriff, there is something added to him.
When a policeman holds up his hand, you stop. There
is something more about him than just an individual;
there is the power that is given him.
And so it is throughout life. No man can be given
a position without being enhanced. It is a reality.
So, too, is the power of the priesthood. It was so
real in the days of Peter, that Simon the sorcerer,
who was making money by his tricks, wanted to buy
that which Peter had, and offered the apostles money:
"Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay
hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost."
Oh, what a denunciation Peter gave him! "Thy
money perish with thee, because thou hast thought
that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
"For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitter-
ness, and in the bond of iniquity. ...
"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray
God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be
forgiven thee."
And so strong was the denunciation given by Peter
that Simon the Sorcerer said, "Pray ye to the Lord for
me that none of these things which ye have spoken
come upon me." (Acts 8:19-24.)
There was no doubt in Peter's mind about the
reality of the power of the Holy Ghost. "Whate'er
thou art, act well thy part."
The third: ". . . there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved." (Ibid., 4:12.) It was a most dramatic scene
when that sentence was uttered, and so you have
this thought expressed as follows: The world's hope
and destiny are centered in the Man of Galilee, our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In the moment when you are fighting the battle
of the day, will you look introspectively and see
whether you really believe that? Paul Kane once
asked this question: "Is Jesus only a legendary figure
in history, a saint to be painted in the stained glass
of church windows, a sort of sacred fairy not to be
approached and hardly to be mentioned by name, or
is he still what he was when he was in the flesh, a
reality, a man of like passions with ourselves, an elder
brother, a guide, a counselor, a comforter, a great
voice calling to us out of the past to live nobly, to guide
bravely, and keep up our courage to the last."
What is he to you, my fellow laborers? When you
kneel down to pray (Continued on page 770)
OCTOBER 1959
727
Your Question
„/:':
■B^S*
s
Answered by Joseph Fielding Smith
President of the Council of the Twelve
THE THREE DAYS OF DARKNESS
Question: "In Luke 23:44, it states that at the
crucifixion of Jesus there was a period of darkness
over all the earth until the ninth hour, but in the Book
of Mormon, 3 Nephi, 8:22-23, it states that a three-day
period of darkness came upon the land at the death
of Jesus. Which of the two accounts is considered
accurate, or are they both accurate? If so, how could
this be?"
Answer: It is a well-established fact that the
earth is a sphere, or a globular body, and that it re-
volves from west to east making one revolution in
twenty-four hours according to man's reckoning. This
being true, we have day and night as the earth re-
volves. If you will look at a globe representing the
earth, you will discover that the Western Hemisphere
is on the opposite side of the earth from Palestine
where the Savior was crucified. The Lord revealed
to Nephi nearly six hundred years before the birth
of our Redeemer, that at the time of his death there
would be three days of darkness on the Western
Hemisphere,1 and a few years before the crucifixion,
the Prophet Samuel, also predicted the three days of
darkness and that there should be thunderings and
lightnings and great earthquakes so that the whole
face of the earth should be changed and broken up
for it was in a solid condition at that time.2
Surely no one who believes in the scriptures and is
acquainted with the great and varied miracles per-
formed by Jesus when on the earth, can consistently
feel that he could give eyesight to the blind, cleanse
lepers, command the storms to cease, and raise the
dead, and would be unable to control the light and the
darkness on any part of the earth. It would be just
as easy for him to cause darkness on one hemisphere
for three days as it would on the other for three
hours. This greater period of darkness and terrible
punishment came upon the people in the Western
Hemisphere because of their extreme wickedness and
because they had, in the course of a very few years,
turned away from the truth to follow Satan, and it is
written of them that they did not sin ignorantly, for
they knew the will of God concerning them, since it
had been taught them; therefore they did wilfully
rebel against God.3
Not only was there a period of darkness at the
death of Christ, but the prediction that there should
be a day and a night and a day of no darkness on the
American Continent, also occurred, at the time of
the birth of our Savior.
n Nephi 19:10.
-'Helaman 14:20-21.
33 Nephi 6:18.
728
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
veouuu
a series of three arti-
cles taken from a forth-
coming book, Mar-
riage, Fact and Fantasy,
by Elder Hugh B.
Brown, reproduced by
the Era through spe-
cial arrangements with
the publisher.
Editor's Note. In his introduction to his new book, Elder Brown observes that he is not a psychiatrist, a psy-
chologist, or a medical practitioner but writes "as one who has had some experience through the years, both secular
and ecclesiastical, with both premarital and postmarital counseling." He continues, "These simple essays are
written from the practical point of view of an observant father, grandfather, and friend and counselor of youth.
Having officiated at many marriage ceremonies, and having, by appointment, investigated and tried to save and
succor thousands of 'shipwrecked mariners' who, feeling discouraged, disillusioned, and defeated, have from time to
time sent out an urgent SOS, the ivriter wishes to share some of the lessons learned along the way. Also the prayerful
hope is expressed that some who are about to 'set sail' may chance to read and heed a ivord of caution and encourage-
ment from one who has sailed the seas of matrimony for more than fifty years."
What's the Hurry?
by Elder Hugh B. Brown
of the Council of the Twelve
We are often asked the question, "What is a prop-
er age for young people to marry?" There is, of
course, no age at which each young person should
marry, and we cannot therefore give a blanket answer
to the question.
Calendar age of physical and biological develop-
ment are not the only, or, in fact, the primary con-
siderations. Marriage calls for physical, mental,
moral, and spiritual adulthood, or maturity. While
it is not possible to say when a person is sufficiently
mature to marry, there are many case histories of
marriage failures due to immaturity. In the Western
States, including Utah, there were almost one-third
as many divorces as marriages in 1958. Three and
one-half times as many teen-age marriages ended in
divorce as in the 22-28 year group. With these
statistics in mind, we ask, "What's the hurry?"
Marriage presupposes at least some measure of
adulthood and maturity. Teen-agers are still in the
process of maturing, physically, mentally, socially,
psychologically, and spiritually. They are still in the
transition stage, still growing and whatever their
calendar age or physical size, they are still infants.
When two such persons marry, if they continue to
grow, they sometimes grow apart rather than together.
If their interests, their objectives, and personalities
grow farther and farther apart, a break becomes in-
evitable. They who marry while still in the transition
stage are gambling— with their own and other's happi-
ness at stake.
They who are emotionally immature, childish, and
cannot behave as grown-ups, should not assume life's
most serious responsibility. Marriage is an enter-
prise for adults. They who do marry in infancy— and
some infants are more than twenty years old— find
themselves in almost constant conflict. In such cases
each should go to work on himself rather than on his
mate and try to fit himself into the pattern of a joint
life. Much can be done by recognizing the problem,
finding the source of the trouble and in a mature
OCTOBER 1959
729
"tf #' :''-
J : ■■'■'
manner, undertaking to overcome and correct the
habits, attitudes, and eccentricities with which he en-
tered the new partnership.
Too many make the mistake of thinking mere in-
fatuation is real love. Too many rush into marriage
with the first one for whom they feel an emotional,
and often fleeting, attraction. Short acquaintance,
lack of dating experience, and failure to use the head
as well as the heart are responsible for the fact that
approximately one-half of all marriages of girls under
nineteen years of age end in unhappiness, separation,
or divorce.
"Love at first sight" should take a second and longer
look in a less glamorous setting. The person who is
the object of one's love should be examined against
his or her background in search of a better under-
standing of his character. It is generally desirable
that both parties to the intended contract should first
have a relatively large number of so-called dates to
enable them to choose rightly and wisely from among
the larger group. In this way they will learn to
distinguish between passing infatuation and real affec-
tion. Real and lasting love is a developing relation-
ship rather than an abrupt awakening and should be
tested by acquaintance, friendship, and association.
The wise gourmet, when going into a first-class
restaurant, asks for a complete list of what is avail-
able, takes time to study it, and then orders what
experience has taught him will give pleasure, satis-
faction, and sustenance without any sour aftereffects.
How much more discriminating he would be if he
were selecting a daily diet for the balance of his life.
While physical attraction is essential to love be-
tween man and woman, it should not be allowed to
4 become paramount. Mutual emotional responses do
not guarantee love or assure a good marriage. In-
fatuation may be romantic, glamorous, thrilling, and
even urgent, but genuine love should not be in a
hurry. The young and immature are too often moti-
vated by impulse and emotion. The young girl who
ecstatically exclaims, "He has that certain something,"
may see the day when she will wish he had "some-
thing certain."
How often the hopes and wishful thinking of un-
wise and immature young people are wrecked in the
quiet calm of better acquaintance, leaving heartache,
emotional and spiritual scars, and sometimes ineradi-
cable stains.
After marriage, mature judgment and wise decision
are called for almost daily, and weighty problems
must be met and solved. We speak not only of
calendar age, or merely physical age, but also of
actual maturity, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Sta-
tistics on marriage show that the best levels of adjust-
ment are found when men marry between the ages
of twenty-five and thirty and women between the
ages of twenty-three and twenty-eight.
The Apostle Paul gave the best definition of love
when he wrote, speaking of charity, or love:
"[Love] suffereth long, and is kind; . . . envieth not;
. . . vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
"Doth not behave itself unseemly, ... is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil;
"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
"Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all
things, endureth all things.
"[Love] never faileth: . . ."
(I Corinthians 13:4-8.)
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I under-
stood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I
became a man, I put away childish things." (Ibid.,
13:11.)
Frequently when parents or marriage counselors
undertake to dissuade impetuous youth from sudden
emotional decisions regarding marriage, they are met
with the statement, "But we are truly in love. We've
been going steady, and we can't stand to be separated."
We wonder how
often they are
blinded by the What's the Hurry?
glittering dia- •/
mond on the
finger of a friend, or prodded by the boasting of the
giver. But when circumstances, or call to duty, result
in separation— i.e. military or mission service, one or
both of the parties frequently form new attachments,
write "Dear John" letters, and are grateful that cir-
cumstances intervened and prevented what might have
been a sad mistake.
And later when the same marriage counselors, again
dealing with impetuous youth, are trying to dissuade
them from sudden and emotional decisions regarding
divorce, they hear the plaintive cry, "We're con-
genial in a way, but somehow our marriage isn't what
we expected. We still lave each other— we think— but
things just don't go right. We had a beautiful wed-
ding, and a wonderful honeymoon, but we aren't
happy. Perhaps we should not have married at all."
Such people seemingly expected passionate and
impetuous association to continue unabated, without
being fed, nurtured, and kept growing during storms
as well as in sunshine. All living things need suste-
nance, and if they stop growing, they begin to die.
Love is a very tender plant; when properly nourished,
it becomes sturdy and enduring, but neglected it will
soon wither and die.
Childish love, though it be a sweet and beautiful
thing at times, is often (Continued on page 769)
OCTOBER 1959
731
and Cancer of the Lung
by Alton Odhsner, M.D.
Past President, American College of Surgeons
President, American Cancer Society
Cancer of the long is a disease which '.thirty or
forty years ago virtually did not exist. It was so
infrequent that one almost did not consider its oc-
curring, I went through four years of medicine and
saw one case of cancer of the lung. It was such a
rarity that the whole student body Went down to the
autopsy room to see this case autopsied. Now cancer
of the lung has become the most frequent of all
cancers. Up until 1955, when one considers all can-
cers, cancer of the lung was second to one other
cancer, namely cancer of the breast. How it is the
most frequent of all cancers. This disease has gone
from negativity up to the most prominent of all.
Cancer of the lung affects males primarily; about
85 percent of our patients are men. However, up
until the mid-1930's it affected women and men with
equal efficiency. About the mid-19S0*s, there was a
tremendous increase in the incidence of cancer of the
lung m men, and there has been a slight increase in
cancer of the lung in women.
Why did that occur? It occurred because twenty
years earlier, at the beginning of World War I in
1914, men began to smoke cigarets heavily, and the
twenty-year lag between 1914 and the mid4930's was
just about the length of time necessary for the cancer-
producing effect of cigaret smoke to exert itself. That
is the reason why it is a disease of men today; How-
ever, it is increasing in women. I'm frequently told
that women smoke as much as men. They do not.
Of all the people who smoke a pack of cigarets a
day or more, two-thirds of them are men. But it
isn't the people that smoke today who necessarily
develop cancer today. It is those that began twenty
years ago, because there is a lag period in the produc-
tion of cancer by a cancer-producing agent.
We know several cancer-producing agents; coal tar
is one of them. There are a number of chemical
agents that are known cancer-producing agents. And
when we produce cancer experimentally, we breed
up animals so that they all react the same way. We
can breed up animals (guinea pigs or mice) so that
every one of them will develop cancer spontaneously.
Conversely, we can breed animals so that none of
them will develop cancer even though one applies
the most powerful of cancer-producing agents. When
we work with animals to determine the cancer-pro-
ducing agents in smoke, for instance, or other agents,
we breed up animals that develop cancer when the
cancer-producing agent is applied, but will not
develop cancer spontaneously.
In the experimental production of cancer, if we
apply a cancer-producing agent to the skin of animals
and apply it every day, we will get a cancer in X
number of days. If we apply it every other day it
will take 2X number of days; if we apply it every
third day it will take SX number of days. In other
words, we can determine with mathematical pre-
cision fust when cancer will develop.
Frequently I hear, "My uncle who is ninety-five
vears of age has smoked all of his life, and he doesn't
Dr. Alton Ochsner
Because of the vital importance of this subject, and our desire that the valuable
information contained in the article which follows may reach as many of the Church
members and others as possible, it is being printed this month in both The Improve-
ment Era and The Instructor.
Dr. Alton Ochsner is president of the Cordell Hull Foundation for International
Education, past president and a regent of the American College of Surgeons, president
of the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, and consultant to numerous organizations
and medical societies. A lengthy list would enumerate other important medical and
surgical societies of which Dr. Ochsner has been past president. He is known world-
wide for his service, and has received many honorary degrees from Europe, Central,
and South America. He has authored over four hundred articles which have appeared
in current magazines and journals. Few people are as well informed with the factual
evidence of cigaret smoking as a causative factor in lung cancer.
This article is taken from an address delivered by Dr. Ochsner at Brigham Young
University on May 20, 1959. The Editors.*
have cancer." I'm sure that is true, and we see some
people who have never smoked who develop cancer
of the lung spontaneously, which is extremely rare.
Humans are not bred the way experimental animals
are bred. Some of us are susceptible to cancer; some
of us are extremely resistant. Those who are suscep-
tible require a cancer-producing agent for a relatively
short period of time. Those who are resistant re-
quire it for a long period of time.
To demonstrate that lung cancer has increased
tremendously, in the state of New York, where vital
statistics are extremely valid, from 1935 to 1950
cancer of the lung increased in men 386 percent,
during which time all other cancers increased only
2 percent. During this same period of time, cancer
of the lung increased in women 68 percent, during
which time all other cancers decreased 15 percent. It
is the only cancer that is increasing in both sexes.
■ This is true not only in our own country, but it is
also true in other civilized countries where smoking
is prevalent. In England, for instance, where until
about ten years ago smoking was much more prevalent
than here, from 1934 to 1954 cancer of the lung in-
creased thirty-eightfold. In Holland during this
same period of time, cancer of the lung increased
tenfold in women and twenty-fourfold in men.
' The statement is frequently made that there can
be no causal relationship between smoking and cancer
because if there were, we would have more of it
than they do in England because we smoke more
than they do in England. It is true that the incidence
of cancer of the lung is higher in England than it is
here, and also it is true that we smoke more than our
British cousins do. But we have smoked more than
the British only for the past ten years. Prior to ten
years ago, they smoked much more than we, and
they are paying the price for their excessive smoking
for the past twenty-five years.
It is frightening to me to think what is going to
happen to us in another ten or fifteen years when
our smoking habits catch up with us. To show how
serious it is in England, in 1954, of all the deaths
in men between the ages of forty-five and fifty-five,
the most productive years of a man's life, ten percent
died of cancer of the lung; that is, one out of every
ten men dying between forty-five and fifty-five died
of cancer of the lung. It is going to be much worse
here in another fifteen or twenty years.
You hear people say, "It is not cigaret smoke; it is
the smog." One of the arguments given for the high
incidence in London is the smog. One might accept
this argument were it not for the fact that immediately
across the North Sea in Denmark, where people
smoke the same as they do in England and where
the incidence of cancer of the lung is the same as it
is in England, there is no smog, whatsoever. Accord-
ing to the United States Public Health statistics the
incidence of cancer of the lung is higher in New
Orleans than in any other city in the United States.
"Extra copies of this address are available at BYU at 15c a copy.
OCTOBER 1959
733
O^J
New Orleans has no smog. And if smog were the cause,
women should have cancer as frequently as men.
Cancer is primarily a disease of older age. It is
one of the prices that we pay for longevity, and al-
though more children between the ages of three and
fifteen die of cancer than any other cause, cancer is
rare in children. Of all the persons ninety years of
age, a greater percentage will have cancer than
those eighty and so on.
There is only one cancer that doesn't follow this
pattern, that doesn't increase with advancing age
and that is cancer of the lung.
Cancer of the lung goes up very sharply to reach
a peak age at fifty-five, following which, with the
advancing years, there is a decrease in its incidence.
It is the only cancer in the body that doesn't follow
the pattern of all other cancers. The reason it
doesn't is that individuals who have smoked heavily
have subjected their heart and blood
vessels to the deleterious effects of to-
bacco and as a result develop coronary
thrombosis, die, and don't live long
enough to develop cancer of the lung.
A dubious advantage of smoking, there-
fore, is that you can spare yourself a
cancer of the lung death by smoking
heavily and dying early of a coronary
disease.
One might carry this ludicrous analogy a little bit
farther and say, "You might spare yourself death of
both of these causes by shooting yourself at forty,"
which no one would suggest. But it is suicide, no
matter how you look at it. Whether you put a bullet
to your head or whether you smoke, it is suicide.
The only difference is that you could put a bullet
through your head quickly and cheaply. If you
smoke, death is prolonged; it is expensive, and it is
painful; but it is still suicide.
Many people say that there is no relationship be-
tween smoking and cancer. They say it hasn't been
proved. I have yet to see the physician who will not
admit that there is a causal relationship, except two
individuals who are in the employ of a tobacco
company. I can assure you that smoking is an addic-
tion. When I tell a man, as I have, that he must
stop smoking or lose his legs, and he tells me he
would rather lose his legs than stop smoking and
continues smoking and loses his legs, that is an
addiction.
About seven years ago, the American Cancer So-
ciety embarked upon an investigative program. In
the determination of statistics there are two types.
One is a retrospective method, which is the method
we used originally. We found that of all our patients
with cancer of the lung, 98V2 percent were heavy
smokers. That is the retrospective method, and it
is criticized by biostatisticians because they say it
concerns a selected group. In other words, those are
individuals who have cancer of the lungs.
The prospective type of statistical study consists
of taking a large number of well people, such as you
and I, and getting their smoking histories, if you are
interested in the effects of smoking, and then follow-
ing them for long periods of time to see what happens
to them. That is exactly what the American Cancer
Society did. Twenty-two thousand volunteer workers,
young women throughout the United States, inter-
viewed two hundred thousand men between the ages
of fifty and seventy. Those are the
ages in which cancer of the lung oc-
curs. Each of these young women had
each of the men fill out an elaborate
questionnaire concerning his smoking
habits— whether he smoked at all, what
he smoked, how much he had smoked,
if he had ever stopped, if he had ever
taken it up again. These questionnaires
were filed with the Cancer Society head-
quarters in New York. Each year, each of the young
women re-interviewed each of the men she had
interviewed the year before. After the six-year
period of time, twelve thousand of the men had died.
When a man died, she got a photostat of the death
certificate. If he had died of cancer and an autopsy
or biopsy had been performed on him, she got a sec-
tion of the tissue and sent that into the Cancer Society
headquarters.
The result of that study showed that not only was
there a difference in the incidence of cancer of the
lung in the smoker and the nonsmoker, but also the
incidence of cancer of the lung varied with the amount
smoked. It was the lowest in the nonsmoker, next
higher in those who smoked up to a half a pack a
day, still higher in those who smoked from a half a
pack to a pack, higher in those who smoked over
a pack a day, and highest in those who smoked
over two packs a day. It was almost like a mileage
ticket. One could determine how soon he was going
to develop cancer by the amount he smoked.
This study showed that the over-all death rate
734
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
among cigaret smokers was 105 percent higher than
among the nonsmokers. The death rate from heart
disease was 125 percent higher among cigaret smokers
than among nonsmokers, and the death rate from
cancer of the lung was 800 percent higher among
cigaret smokers than among nonsmokers. And yet
there are still people that say it has never been
proved.
Frequently I am told by men who smoked for a
long period of time, "As far as I am concerned, it
won't do any good to stop because the die has al-
ready been cast." That is not necessarily true. It
may be true, as it was in the case of Dr. Evarts
Graham. Dr. Graham, who was a great scientist,
professor of surgery at my alma mater, Washington
University in St. Louis, used to chide me about the
relationship of smoking and cancer. He himself was
a heavy smoker. He did not think there was a causal
relationship. I must admit that from
the beginning my reasons for my claims
were pretty nebulous. They were based
upon two facts: one, at that time I had
never seen a patient with cancer of the
lung who had not been a heavy smoker;
the other was that there was a parallel-
ism between consumption of cigarets
and incidence of cancer of the lung.
Dr. Graham used to say, "Yes, there is a
parallelism between the consumption of cigarets and
the incidence of cancer of the lung, but there is also
a parallelism between the incidence of cancer of the
lung and the sale of nylon stockings," which there
was about fifteen years ago. Dr. Graham, however,
subsequently became convinced (and I will tell you
later about some research he did) that there was a
causal relationship; and he stopped smoking. He died
of cancer of the lung. The saddest letter I ever got in
my life I got from Evarts Graham three weeks before
he died. He said, "I just want to let you know, since
I know of your interest, that they've just found that
I've got cancer in both of my lungs. You know, I
stopped smoking four years ago, but after smoking
two packs of cigarets a day for over fifty years, too
much damage had been done."
The American Cancer Society study showed, how-
ever, that the changes that occur in bronchial mucous
membrane are not necessarily irreversible. They
have shown that whereas the incidence of cancer of
the lung is lowest in the nonsmoker and highest in
the smoker who has smoked heavily and continued
smoking, if the heavy smoker discontinues smoking,
the incidence of cancer becomes less. If he has dis-
continued fewer than ten years, the incidence is not
as high as if he continued. If he discontinued more
than ten years, it is lower than if he discontinued less
than ten years. The study the American Cancer So-
ciety made has been corroborated by two subse-
quent, independent studies; one by the Veterans'
Administration in which a much larger group of
men was investigated with exactly the same finding.
It was also corroborated by two Englishmen, Dahl
and Hill; the onlv difference there is that the latter
study was limited to the medical profession. One
cannot disregard these studies.
There are six cigaret companies in the United States
that spend a million dollars a day in federal tax
alone. The taxes paid by the industry amount to
over two and three quarter billion dollars a year.
That does not include the cost of the
raw product; that does not include the
labor; that does not include that very
inconsequential item of advertising,
which last year amounted to about
$125,000,000. We are talking about a
multibillion dollar industrv. Far be it
from me to want to interfere with the
economy of our nation, but what good
is our economy if we destroy the health
of our nation? And that is what we are doing. We
are certainly undermining the health of our nation.
There is additional evidence that cancer is pro-
duced by smoking. I attended a cancer-of-the-lung
committee meeting of the American Cancer Society
in New York several years ago. Someone made the
statement: "There can be no causal relationship
between smoking and cancer because if there were,
why don't we see precancerous conditions?" Not
being a pathologist, this worried me a great deal
until I returned to New Orleans and talked to Dr.
Dunlap, our professor of pathology at Tulane, and
asked him about it. He thought for a moment, and
then he said: "We don't look for them." So he started
one of the young pathologists in the department on
this project. He took pieces of tissue out of the
bronchial tubes of men being autopsied and examined
the tissue. In the nonsmoker, the mucous membrane
looks just as mine does. In the moderate smoker,
there is definitely abnormal increase in the number
of cells. In the heavy smoker, definite precancerous
conditions are present. (Continued on page 766)
OCTOBER 1959
735
Hi Editors' Note: Salt Lake City born John Melvin
Goddard, a former LDS missionary and combat flier
with the Army Air Corps during World War II, ranks as
one of the country's foremost young explorers.
At the early age of sixteen he had already begun
his career by plumbing the wilds of the Okefinoke
Swamp and the Everglades and, at 21, the dense
jungles of South America with his father. He has
climbed the Matterhorn, Vesuvius, Popocatepetl, Kili-
manjaro, and the Grand Tetons. He has explored and
photographed the Nile, Colorado, and Congo rivers.
The Improvement Era here presents the beginning
of a series of previously unpublished articles from a
forthcoming book on the first of the young explorers
river safaris. This was the daring exploration of the
River Nile.
Wendell Phillips, president of the American Founda-
tion for the Study of Man, ranks Elder Goddard's Nile
adventure " . . . alongside the epic 'Kon Tiki,' and the
recent Mount Everest expedition," as one of the ". . .
great feats of exploration and physical endurance of
all time. . . ."
The Nile is the life's blood of Egypt and the Sudan.
It vitally affects all of Uganda, one-third of Ethiopia,
and parts of Kenya, Tanganyika, Ruanda-Urundi, and
the Belgian Congo. Elder Goddard and his two
French companions, Jean LaPorte and Andre Davy,
conquered its entire 4,160-mile length in small, light
kayaks.
Mixed emotions filled our hearts as my two French
companions, Jean LaPorte and Andre Davy, and I
stood solemnly surveying the vast African panorama
stretched before us. After months of exhausting re-
search, preparation, and travel, with frequent set-
backs and disappointments, we had at last reached
the threshold of the French-American Nile Expedi-
tion—a wind-swept mountaintop, 6,700 feet high in
the heart of Africa. Here, four degrees below the
equator, in the grass-covered highlands of Urundi, a
pint-sized country bordering the Belgian Congo, we
located the fountainhead, the most remote source, the
very birth of. the Queen of Rivers, the mighty Nile!
"A trip down the whole Nile in those cockleshells?
Impossible! Why you must be crackers!" I had to
laugh as I recalled the derisive exclamation of a
British customs officer at Mombasa the day we landed
on African soil. His gibe, tactless as it was, exempli-
fied the general thumbs-down attitude toward the
Nile expedition which we three had come to accept
as inevitable. It seemed every official, authority, and
expert, self-styled or genuine, we met, from Paris to
the Congo, responded with skepticism and disfavor
when they learned that we had dedicated ourselves
to the never-before-accomplished feat of exploring
the entire 4,160-mile length of the longest river on
earth. They unequivocally condemned our project
with words like "A foolhardy attempt to do the im-
possible," "a journey hazardous beyond expression,"
"a triple suicide by kayak."
Though at all times helpful and hospitable they
were unwaveringly pessimistic about the outcome of
our unprecedented undertaking, and seemed duty-,
bound to detail the obstacles which turned back
explorers of old and which would face us during our
The three Nileteers (left to right): John Goddard, Andre Davy,
and Jean LaPorte in their 60 lb. 15 ft. specially constructed
kayaks— the boats that took them doivn the entire length of
the longest river on earth.
736
THE IMPROVEMENT .ERA
DOWN THE NILE
v \ ' - M - T i' ,'• .
Part I
by John M. Goddard
John Goddard makes friends with two
newly captured, rare white rhinos.
expedition unchanged: the same fever-ridden jungles,
the trackless swamps, treacherous cataracts, deadly
diseases, suffocating sandstorms, the hostile natives,
and the incessant heat, hunger, and hardships.
Pondering all these formidable stumbling blocks
we couldn't deny they had a sound basis for their
gloomy convictions. However, we had carefully
weighed all these negative factors during our pains-
taking research before setting forth and had reached
the firm conclusion that with careful planning, com-
mon sense, and divine guidance we could surmount
all difficulties.
Since the dawn of human history the Nile has fired
the imaginations of men with its fascinating challenge.
Over the centuries numerous expeditions had been
sent out to trace its interminable channel through
Africa and to solve one of the most ancient and per-
plexing enigmas of geography— the mystery of its
sources. Despite the many attempts, it wasn't until
1770 that a Scotchman, James Bruce, a great scientific
explorer of Africa, discovered the source of the Blue
Nile near Lake Tana in Ethiopia, and less than a
hundred years ago that Lake Victoria was discovered
and recognized as the head reservoir of the White
Nile, when in 1862 the British ex-
plorer John Speke became the first
white man to behold its colossal
expanse.
Considering the Nile has func-
tioned for over 5,000 years as a most
supremely important and influential
watercourse, it seemed unbelievable
that no expedition had ever suc-
ceeded in traveling the full length of
the great river. It was a fact that
made our own attempt a transcend-
ent challenge.
Originally we planned to start our
Nile odyssey at the point where the
river first debouches from Lake
Victoria, since the lake is generally
accepted as the most distant source;
hut after much study and thought
I decided that we must embark at
no other place than at the earliest
beginning of the Nile, which was
not Lake Victoria but, from a techni-
cal, geographical view, the head-
springs of its main feeder, the
Kagera River. I realized at the time
that the decision, if followed, en-
tailed considerably more time, ef-
fort, and hardship, but a Latter-day
Saint upbringing had taught me that
nothing really worth while in life is ever attained with-
out concomitant sacrifice and struggle, and a thing
worth doing at all should be done thoroughly and to
the best of one's ability.
With Jean and Andre in complete accord with this
crucial change of plans we proceeded to track down
the isolated headwaters of the Kagera, most important
feeder of the dozen or more tributaries flowing into
Lake Victoria, to their origin in Urundi, little dream-
ing that our efforts would bring us to a near-fatal
disaster.
From Mombasa, the chief port of Kenya Colony,
we had penetrated into the African hinterland in
several stages by means of the jeeps and lorries of
accommodating government officials, until now,
three weeks later, we stood at the head of the Kagera
River, exulting in the momentous success of reaching
the first of our two supreme goals yet awed by the
sight which few white men have ever had the privi-
lege of beholding, the birthplace of the Nile.
Certainly the actual appearance of the source— ten
little springs gently gushing out of the rocky hillside
at our feet— was far from dramatic. Few important
rivers in fact have a more humble, unpretentious
738
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
beginning. By comparison the start of the immense
Mississippi, a healthy brook flowing out of Lake
Itasca in Minnesota, was more impressive to me
though I was able to wade across it in four strides
during an excursion through Itasca State Park the
year before. Yet I regarded the occasion of our visit a
priceless and cherished experience. When I thought
of the countless multitudes that had puzzled over,
theorized, and conjectured about this one all but
inaccessible spot, I realized even more what a rare
privilege was ours.
Perched on the hilltop above the dark, lush stripes
of vegetation, separately running down the steep
slopes, was a ten-foot whitewashed pyramid of con-
crete, a remarkable landmark for this part of Africa,
erected in 1938 by Dr. Burkhart Waldecker, a Ger-
man explorer, to commemorate his discovery of the
Kasumo Springs and to attest their significance as the
southernmost boundary of the Nile basin. The
weather-beaten triangle also marked a continental
divide, for the watershed to the north drains into
Lake Victoria and that of the south empties into Lake
Tanganyika, the deepest and second longest lake in
the world.
Our arrival at the pyramid was the curtain raiser
on the Nile expedition and the most fantastic experi-
ence of our lives. Henceforth, from Alpha— this
lowest reach of the Nile basin, we would be moving
steadily towards Omega— the small Egyptian town of
Rosetta at the mouth of the Nile and the end of our
journey. To reach it we would have to cover a
distance equivalent to one-sixth of the earth's cir-
cumference. It would be like traveling from Los
Angeles to Lima, Peru, or from New York to Naples,
Italy; not by train, ocean liner, or airplane, but in
three little Eskimo-type boats operated solely by our
own muscle power.
Two weeks later we had made our way to Kakitum-
ba, a tiny custom's station at the border of Ruanda
and Uganda, a British Protectorate in East Africa,
where our kayaks and the bulk of our gear had been
shipped and stored while we sought out the Kasumo
Springs. Our plan now was to travel from Kakitumba
down the Kagera River to Lake Victoria, then along
the western shore to the northernmost extremity
where the Victoria Nile is formed in the lake's only
outlet, hydrologically a continuation of the Kagera.
We would then paddle down the Victoria Nile and
continue all the way to the far-off Mediterranean.
The day dawned hot and clear. We awakened to
the chatter of monkeys, feeling a sense of excite-
ment and urgency, for this was the day we were to
test our kayaks on an African river for the first time.
Little did we realize that it was nearly to be the
last time.
It is a queer paradox that we should choose, as
our mode of transportation down a tropical river
through jungle, swamp, and desert, a craft designed
and developed by the Eskimos of the frigid arctic
regions; but time proved that our kayaks were the
most practical and ideally suited boats we could
possibly have used. They were small and light,
compact and collapsible, only fifteen feet long and
sixty pounds in weight, consisting of a canvas and
rubber envelope which stretched over a wooden
framework of flexible ash. Each one was capable of
accommodating two hundred pounds of equipment
in addition to the paddler.
Not bothering with breakfast we threw ourselves
into the job of assembling our boats with mounting
enthusiasm. We unlaced and removed their brown
canvas shrouds and stretched out the thin gray and
white sheaths full length on the ground. After dust-
ing a coat of talc on the rubber inside and along the
varnished surfaces of the wooden skeleton to prevent
the wood from sticking to the rubber in the heat, we
fitted and locked the sections together, thirteen
separate pieces for each kayak, and inserted them
inside the skins. With the kayaks intact we carried
them through the swampy border of papyrus to the
river's edge then, in several more trips, brought down
and loaded the three hundred pounds of waterproof
baggage. There were twelve bags in all, four for
each boat, containing the barest essentials for our
long voyage, selected after months of planning and
countless eliminations. The heaviest sack of all con-
tained our precious store of photographic film—
12,000 feet of 16mm Kodachrome and 1500 feet of
black and white for our movie cameras and 100 rolls
of film for our three still cameras. In the other
sacks, which were made of waterproof, rubberized
cloth, were a three-man tent, our light kapok sleeping
bags, an aluminum cooking outfit, a small store of
food staples, a compact but well-stocked medical
kit, a water filter, and our own personal belongings,
which included clothes, trade goods for the natives,
insect collecting equipment, knives, ammunition for
our three guns, maps, journals, repair kits, etc.
I gave Andre my luger pistol to carry and handed
Jean the .22 caliber rifle to keep with him while I
kept the 12 gauge shotgun, so each of us would have
a weapon in case of emergency. Then with every-
thing securely lashed inside our kayaks, Andre and
Jean set their boats into the silty water, jumped in, and
pushed off into the current while I stood on the bank
and filmed their departure. The Kagera, one of the
swiftest rivers in Africa, (Continued on page 760)
OCTOBER 1959
U3EJER
739
Thirteenth of the Series
JSo That's What Boys Are Made Of
"Today, Today I Am a Mam
!
5>J>
(Behavior Patterns and Problems of the 21-year-old)
by W. Cleon Skousen
Chief of Police, Salt Lake City
When a boy stretches himself to full height, takes
a deep breath and says, "Mom, today, today I am
a man!" it sounds like a Tarzan call coming from
the topmost timbers of a very tall tree. However,
Junior is broadcasting a very special kind of call on
this, his 21st birthday. He is trumpeting for destiny
to meet him any time, anywhere, and preferably in
the next twenty minutes!
Age 21 is a year of thrust, a year of arriving, a year
of budding adulthood. It normally radiates confi-
dence, exuberance, poise, spunk, and big dreams.
Psychologically, it is a great year.
Portrait of a 21-year-old
Although traditionally age 21 is the threshold of
manhood, Mother Nature knows the job is not quite
done. Junior is simultaneously both a boy and a
man. In swimming trunks, slacks, or work clothes
he can pass for a well-developed 17-year-old. In his
Sunday go-to-meeting clothes he can pass for 24.
Last year Junior was very anxious to impress people
with his being a man. This year he occasionally likes
to slip back briefly into his old teen-age ways of being
an irresponsible gay blade. It may happen only two
or three times during the year, but when it does
happen, it will seem so out of character it may shock
the whole family. For Junior it is simply a nostalgic
backward glance over his maturation shoulder to taste
for the last time the carefree ways of "the good old
days." Like a grown colt, he instinctively feels that
this is perhaps his last opportunity to kick up his heels
before settling down to the daily chore of pulling his
share of life's load.
Essentially, however, Junior is remarkably well
equipped to play the role of a full grown man if
circumstances require it. In pioneer days early ma-
turity was one of the demands. A 21-year-old was
frequently the owner of a farm, father of a young
family, and already attracting attention as a force
for good in the bustling frontier community. This
shows the potential of a 21-year-old. However, mod-
ern life tends to postpone these demands. Therefore
some 21-year-olds will still be marching up and down
the earth acting like uninhibited teen-agers.
Birth of a Citizen
Nevertheless, as far as the law is concerned, Junior
has now arrived. All the laws which formerly pro-
tected him as a "minor" are now inapplicable. No
longer does his mom or dad have the responsibility
of providing his board and room. They may help
out once in a while just because they love him, but,
legally speaking, Junior is paddling his own canoe.
Many a night he will lie awake thinking how nice it
used to be when Dad was at the oars.
No longer can he buy an expensive sports car and
then get out from under the payments by turning it
back and claiming he was under age when he signed
the contract. From here on his contracts can be
enforced with a vengeance, even to the extent of
garnisheeing his wages if he gets in arrears.
Junior is on his own in other ways. If he success-
fully avoids the nicotine habit with its risks of cancer,
it will be to his own credit. The tobacco laws stopped
protecting him the day he became 21— in some states
even earlier. If he avoids (Continued on page 756)
740
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
I::::::.:-
■:• ;'■ '. : : ; ';'-<: ■'■■■'" J" '^r
President Levi Edgar Young
Fifty years of
by Albert L. Zobell, Jr., Research Editor
Five decades, a full half-century, is a long span
in a man's life. This October conference time, Presi-
dent Levi Edgar Young, senior president of the First
Council of the Seventy, completes that length of serv-
ice as a member of the presiding councils of the
Church. He was called a member of the First Council
of the Seventy on October 6, 1909. He was in the
East at the time, on sabbatical leave from the Univer-
sity of Utah, pursuing his own academic studies, and
he was not set apart for his office until January 23,
1910, when Elder John Henry Smith of the Council
of the Twelve was in New York City.
President Young's has been a lifetime of study,
a lifetime of aiding others with their studies. He
was born in Salt Lake Citv, Februarv 2, 1874. As a
youth, he remembers establishing a lending library in
the old Twelfth Ward School, where he lent books
to his friends at a flat fee of five cents a volume. He
was graduated from the University of Utah in June
1895, and taught in Salt Lake City. In 1897 and 1898-
99 he studied at Harvard University. (It was the
practice for the Church in those days to set apart
selected young people as missionaries before they
went away to study, and so Elder Young was called
as a missionary.)
In 1899 he joined the faculty of the University
of Utah as an Assistant in the Department of History,
beginning an association at that university extending
forty years. He closed his academic teaching career
in 1939 as professor of Western History and head of
the Department of History and Political Science at the
University of Utah. He holds the title of professor
emeritus of history there.
He was called to labor in the German Mission in
1901. The following year he was appointed president
of the Swiss Mission which then included part of
France, northern Italy, and all of Switzerland and
Austria.
Of his early experiences as a member of the Gen-
eral Authorities, President Young has said: "I remem-
ber many times when I hurried from my last class
on Friday afternoon to catch a train. I would travel
to a stake conference assignment, get on a train for
the return trip Sunday evening, and arrive just in
time to teach my first class on Monday morning."
For twelve years, from 1922 to 1934, he presided
at the Temple Square Mission. During that time he
selected several beautiful quotations that are lettered
on the walls at the Bureau of Information. "The glory
of God is intelligence" and "Seek ve out of the best
books words of wisdom" are two taken from the
Doctrine and Covenants.
During the summer of 1924, he studied at McGill
University, Montreal; and at Laval University, Quebec.
He spent many weeks making a study of the old
French manuscripts pertaining to early American
history.
He served as president of the New England Mission
of the Church from 1939 to 1942. Serving as a
churchman he accomplished much good by making
himself at home with the scholars amid the institu-
tions of higher learning in New England.
President Young possesses one of Utah's largest
collections of books. He loves to study books; he
loves to write them; and his books will eventually be
shared with the Church Historian's office, the State
Historical Society, and the University of Utah. All
of these— and many more— have been recipients of his
generosity with books over the years.
He is widely known and respected as the author
of numerous writings on western Americana.
Presently, he is serving as a member of the National
Advisory Council of the American Christian Palestine
committee. For a near lifetime he has joined with
the religious leaders of the nation in their efforts to
understand each others' purposes and goals.
This is a brief word picture of a scholar who daily
studies and writes and learns.
Fifty years is a long time for a man to give of
himself in one of the great leadership positions of
the Church. Still, it is but a tradition in the Young
family. President Levi Edgar Young's grandfather,
President Joseph Young, was one of the first of the
brethren to be chosen as president of the First Coun-
cil of Seventy by the Prophet Joseph Smith, February
28, 1835, at Kirtland, Ohio. President Joseph Young
served as senior member of that Council beginning
in April 1837, until his death in Salt Lake City,
July 16, 1881.
President Seymour B. Young, the son of President
Joseph Young, was called as a member of the First
Council of the Seventy at the October 1882 general
conference. In April 1892 he became the senior mem-
ber of the Council, serving until his death at Salt
Lake City, December 15, 1924. His son, President
Levi Edgar Young has served in that same capacity
742
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Service
since May 1941.
President S. Dilworth
Young, a grandson of Presi-
dent Seymour B. Young and
a nephew of President Levi
Edgar Young, was called
as a member of the First
Council of the Seventy at
the April 1945 general con-
ference.
Four men of one family
have given more than 152
vears of service as mem-
bers of the First Council
of the Seventy of the
Church in a period extend-
ing back to the time when
the seventies were first or-
ganized in this dispensa-
tion by the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Three of those
men, grandfather, father,
and son, served as the sen-
ior member of the First
Council for a total of more
than ninety-four years!
And that is not all. An-
other son of President
Seymour B. Young was
Elder Clifford E. Young
who served as an Assistant
to the Council of the
Twelve from April 1941 un-
til his death, August 1958.
President Levi Edgar
Young lives quietly on East
South Temple with Mrs.
Young, his companion of
more than fifty-two years.
Together they share many
happy hours, various in-
terests and activities. Three
daughters make their fam-
ily circle: Harriet (Mrs.
Mitchell Kline); Jane (Mrs.
Rulon Rawson); and Elea-
nor (Mrs. Harris Van
Orden).
OCTOBER 1959
743
"Mixed Voices"
A Study on Book of Mormon Criticism
by Hugh Nibley
The Comparative
lfJL\^L/L\^P(jL as such is neither good nor
bad. It can be abused (as what tool can not?), but
to condemn it outright because of its imperfections
would put an end to all scholarship.
The fundamental rule of the comparative method
is, that if things resemble each other there must be
some connection between them, and the closer the
resemblance the closer the connection. For example,
if anyone were to argue that the Book of Mormon was
obviously stolen from Solomon Spaulding's Manu-
script Story (the document now at Oberlin College)
because the word "and" is found to occur frequently
in both texts, we would simply laugh at him. If he
brought forth as evidence the fact that kings are
mentioned in both books, he might not appear quite
so ridiculous. But if the Manuscript Story actually
referred by name to "cureloms and cumoms" we would
be quite sure of a possible borrowing (though even
then we would not have proven a direct borrowing).
This hypothetical case illustrates the fact that there
are degrees of significance in parallels. Recently a
Protestant minister pointed to seventy-five resem-
blances between the Book of Mormon and the Manu-
script Story. None of them alone is worth anything,
but his position is that there are so many that taken
altogether they must be significant.90 The trouble is
that it would be very easy to find seventy-five equally
good parallels between the Book of Mormon and
any other book you can name. As an actual example,
to prove that the Book of Mormon and the Manuscript
Story are related, this investigator shrewdly notes that
in both books "men arise and make addresses," "both
[books] pronounce woe unto the wicked mortals,"
"both mention milk," in both "adultery was a crime,"
"both had counsellors," etc. What kind of "parallels"
are these? Seventy-five or seven hundred fifty, it is
all the same— such stuff adds up to nothing.90
But the most publicized list of parallels of the Book
of Mormon and another work is B. H. Roberts' com-
parison of that book with Ethan Smith's View of the
Hebrews.91 Commenting on this, Mrs. Brodie wrote:
"The scholarly Mormon historian, B. H. Roberts once
made a careful and impressive list of parallels be-
tween the Views of the Hebrews and the Book of
Mormon, but for obvious reasons it was never pub-
lished."92 The most obvious reason for not publishing
it would be to any textual critic as it was to Elder
Roberts, that the "careful and impressive list of paral-
lels" is quite worthless either to prove or disprove
the Book of Mormon.
In the first place, only eighteen parallels are listed,
and neither Mrs. Brodie nor Mr. Hogan adds anything
to the list. This, then is the best we can do for Ethan
Smith's parallels. If there were only eighteen ideas
in all the Book of Mormon and about the same num-
ber in Ethan Smith's book, then the eighteen parallels
would be indeed suspicious. But there are not only
eighteen ideas in the Book of Mormon— there are
hundreds! So if we are going to use such a tiny
handful as evidence they had better be good. But
when we consider the Roberts' parallels, we find that
they are not only very few, but without exception
all perfectly ordinary. In fact, Mr. Hogan in his re-
cent treatment of the subject has unwittingly robbed
the eighteen parallels of any significance by going to
considerable pains to point out in his introduction
that the ideas shared by Ethan and Joseph Smith were
not original to either of them, but were as common
in the world they lived in as the name Smith itself.
He would agree with Mr. Cross that "neither Solomon
Spaulding, for whom some have claimed authorship
of a manuscript which became the Book of Mormon,
nor Joseph Smith required any originality to speculate
in this direction. . . ,"93 No originality was required
in these matters because these things were public
741
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
property. This being the case why would Joseph
Smith need to steal them from Ethan Smith?
Take Parallels Number 2 and 4 in Roberts' list for
example: Both claim a Hebraic origin for the Indian.
But so did everybody else. In 1833 Josiah Priest wrote,
". . . the opinion that the American Indians are de-
scendants of the lost Ten Tribes, is now a popular
one, and generally believed. . . ,"94 In that case Joseph
Smith must have known as much about it as Ethan
Smith— no need for pilfering.
No. 5 The idea of a lost or buried book is found in
both documents. Again what could be commoner?
This is Mr. Hogan's prize exhibit and parting shot:
Ethan Smith had suggested that the best evidence
for a connection between the Indians and the ancient
Hebrews would be the finding of an actual inscrip-
tion "on some durable substance in evident Hebrew
language and character." Of course it would; inscrip-
tions in ancient languages on durable material (they
could hardly be in modern languages on perishable
materials) have been throughout history the best-
known link between ancient and living civilizations.
Yet Ethan Smith's idea that a Hebrew inscription
would be the best tie-up between the Jews and the
Indians is presented here as a brilliant and novel idea,
the provocation that set Joseph Smith on the high-
road to forgery, according to Mr. Hogan, who con-
cludes his study with the weighty words: "If an
enterprising and imaginative writer needed any final
provocation, this would seem to be it." As if "an
energetic and imaginative writer," of all people,
needed to be told that it is ancient writings that tell
about ancient people.
No. 14. In Ethan Smith's book is reported that an
Indian chief once said that "he knew it to be wrong,
if a poor man came to his door hungry and naked, to
turn him away empty. For he believed God loved
the poorest of men better than he did proud rich
men." Again, would Joseph Smith or any Christian
have to go to Ethan Smith's book to learn this? If
. . . but if you put the two together, what do you
get? Another parallel, Egyptian hieroglyphics!
OCTOBER 1959
745
the Indian's words were quoted in the Book of Mor-
mon it would be a different thing: but what compas-
sionate human being, Christian or not, has not held
this philosophy? Here is another version of the same
thing:
No. 16. An early traveler quoted by Ethan Smith
tells of some Indians who were "loving, and affection-
ate to their wives and children. . . ." The Book of
Mormon reports indirectly that the Nephites also loved
their children. And this, believe it or not, is taken
as strong proof that the Book of Mormon was stolen
from the View of the Hebrews.
No. 15. It is the same with polygamy: in Ethan
Smith's book a Delaware chief deplores the recently
adopted practice in his tribe of picking up a number
of wives and casting them off as soon as one grew
tired of them. The fact that the Indian recognizes
such a practice as immoral can only indicate accord-
ing to Ethan Smith the influence of "Israelitish tradi-
tion ... as taught by the Old Testament as if mankind
had no other source of morality. Yet here his naive
reasoning is sounder than the proposition that the
prohibition of more than one wife to the Nephites must
have come from this particular source. Actually,
this is no parallel at all since there is no resemblance
between the practices described.
A number of parallels in the list are attributed to
Joseph Smith's stealing from the View of the Hebrews,
when he could more easily have found the same
material in the Bible. This reaches the point of ab-
surdity in parallel No. 12 where Joseph Smith gets
the idea of quoting Isaiah from Ethan since the latter
"quoted copiously and chiefly from Isaiah in relation
to the scattering and gathering of Israel." This is
the equivalent of accusing one scholar of stealing
from another because they both quote "copiously and
chiefly" from Homer in their studies of Troy. Since
ancient times Isaiah has been the source for informa-
tion on the scattering and gathering of Israel. Any
student writing a term paper on that subject would
deserve to be flunked if he failed to quote from that
prophet without ever having heard of Ethan Smith!
Parallel No. 11 is a related case: "The view of the
Hebrews has many references to both the scattering
and the gathering of Israel in the last days. The
second chapter is entitled 'The Certain Restoration
of Judah and Israel' and in this section are quoted
nearly all the references to Isaiah that are referred
to and quoted more fully in the Book of Mormon."
Which would Joseph Smith be more likely to go to
in treating this subject, Mr. Ethan Smith or the Bible?
Obviously the Bible is the source used since it is
here quoted more fully than it is in Ethan's book. But
did Joseph need Ethan to tell him to consult the Bible
in the first place?
Again, No. 10, the first chapter of the Views of the
Hebrews is devoted to the destruction of Jerusalem.
Since the book claims to be searching out the lost ten
tribes, it is hard to conceive how it could begin other-
wise. There have been many dispersions from Jeru-
salem, as the Book of Mormon tells us, and many
destructions: the one told of in the Book of Mormon
is a totally different one from that described by Ethan
Smith, which took place hundreds of years before it.
It is hardly likely that the Bible-reading Smiths first
discovered that Jerusalem was destroyed by perusing
the pages of Ethan's book. Neither did Joseph need
Ethan Smith to tell him (No. 6) that God's people
anciently had inspired prophets and heavenly gifts.
This has always been a conspicuous part of Indian
PEACE
by Ruth K. Kent
A storm is threatening the beach today;
The screaming sea gulls swoop in weird delight
While gleeful waves tattoo a roundelay
Against the restless sands, the clouds benight
The sun and playful winds conspire to strum
The branches on the stalwart pines as Thor
Beats thunder drums; all nature must succumb
Whenever tempests frolic near the shore.
There was a time on earth when Jesus said,
To seas that foamed in fury, "Peace, be still."
Then all was quiet as the sacred dead;
The elements are subject to his will.
So why should not the struggling nations cease
Their bickerings, and pray to God for peace?
746
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
tradition, but given the popular belief that the an-
cient Americans were of Israel, Joseph Smith would
have no choice but to attribute to them the divine gift
possessed by God's people. Among these divine gifts
was the Urim and Thummim (No. 7) described in the
Bible, and only dimly and indirectly hinted at by
Ethan Smith in describing an article of clothing worn
by medicine men— quite a different article from the
Urim and Thummim of either the Book of Mormon
or the Bible.
The trouble with this last parallel is that it is not
a parallel at all, but only something that is made into
one by egregiously taking the part for the whole. The
same faulty reasoning characterizes the first of the
parallels in the list, No. 1: the place of origin of the
two works. Ethan Smith's book was written in Ver-
mont, and Joseph Smith was born in Vermont. That
would be a very suspicious coincidence were it not
that Joseph Smith left Vermont as a child at least
eight years before the View of the Hebrews was pub-
lished. The time scale which invalidates the argument
of place of origin is actually given as another parallel
between the two books. Parallel No. 3: the time of
production— it is held to be most significant that the
publication of Ethan Smith's first edition and the ap-
pearance of the Angel Moroni occurred in the same
year. We must confess our failure to detect anything
in Ethan Smith's book that might have suggested the
Angel Moroni. All that is proved by the dates is that
the View of the Hebrews came out first, so that Joseph
Smith could have used it. Of course, if View of the
Hebrews had appeared after the Book of Mormon
there would be no case— though Mrs. Brodie tries very
hard to hint that Joseph Smith stole from Josiah Priest,
whose book did not appear until 1833!95 Even Mrs.
Brodie concedes that "it may never be proven that
Joseph ever saw the View of the Hebrews" but even
if he had seen it, that would prove nothing unless we
could discover something in the Book of Mormon
that could not possibly come from any other source.
What the critics seem to consider the most devastat-
ing of all the parallels in the list, the one most often
mentioned and on which B. H. Roberts concentrates
most of his attention, is No. 9, which deals with the
general relations of the ancient Americans to each
other. The most obvious and immediate objection to
the popular theory that the Indians were the ten tribes
was that the ten tribes were civilized and the Indians
were not. Since colonial times there were two things
that everybody knew about aboriginal America: (1)
that it was full of savages, and ( 2 ) that it was full of
ruins left by people who were not savages. If the
Indians were from the ten tribes, then they must have
fallen from a higher estate, and that estate was mutely
witnessed by the ruins. Using these general specula-
tions as his starting point, Ethan Smith, like any
intelligent man, goes on with his own surmises : When
the civilized ten tribes arrived in the New World, they
found themselves in a wilderness teeming with game,
( 1 ) "inviting them to the chase, most of them ( 2 ) fell
into a wandering and idle hunting life," while "the
more sensible parts of this people" continued in their
civilized ways and left behind them the ruins that
fill the land. "It is highly probable," Ethan Smith
continues to speculate, "that the more civilized part
of the Ten Tribes of Israel after they settled in Amer-
ica, became (3) wholly separated from the hunting
and savage tribes of their brethren; that the latter
(4) lost the knowledge of their having descended
from the same family with themselves; that the civi-
lized part continued many centuries; that (5) tre-
mendous wars were frequent between them and their
savage brethren." Then gradually (6) "in process of
time their savage jealousies and rage annihilated their
more civilized brethren." No other explanation is
possible, he thinks: "What account can be given of
this, but that the savages exterminated them, after
(7) long and dismal wars." As to the state of the
savages, "We cannot so well account for their evident
degeneracy in any way" except the Bible way: "as
that it took place under the vindictive Providence, as
has been noted, to accomplish (8) divine judgments
denounced against the idolatrous Ten Tribes of Israel."
(Italics ours.)
Now consider the eight points from the viewpoint
of the Book of Mormon. ( 1 ) It was not the joy of the
chase that led the Lamanites into the wilderness— the
greatest hunters in the Book of Mormon are Nephites;
(2) the less civilized group did not upon arriving in
America "fall into a wandering . . . life," they were
wanderers when they got here, and so were their
brethren. (3) In the Book of Mormon "the more
civilized part" of the people never becomes "wholly
separated . . . from their brethren," the two remaining
always in contact. (4) The more savage element
never "lost the knowledge" of their descent: The
Lamanites always claimed in fact that the Nephites
had stolen their birthright. (5) The wars were neither
tremendous nor frequent— they are almost all in the
nature of sudden raids; they involved small numbers
of people, and, except for the last great war, they
are brief. (6) It was not the savage jealousy and rage
of an inferior civilization that destroyed the higher
civilization— that higher civilization had broken up
completely before the last war by its own corruption,
and at the time of their destruction the Nephites were
as debased as their rivals. (7) It was not a process of
gradual extermination (Continued on page 759)
OCTOBER 1959
747
Conducted by
the Unified
Church School System
;'~*'-
! '.".' -'•.. . "• '• '."
by Paul H. Dunn
Director of the Los Angeles (USC)
Institute of Religion
..iiffijasjSsSi&fc.
A college professor once asked his students why so
few of them went to their church Sunday School
classes. "For one thing," they said, "the teachers
don't know any more about teaching than we know.
And most of them don't know any more about know-
ing how to make religion interesting and inviting."
George Betts says, "All teaching has two objectives,
the subject taught and the person taught. When we
teach John grammar (or religion), we teach grammar
(or religion), of course; but we also teach John.
And a greater of these two objectives is John. It is
easy enough to attain the lesser of the objectives.
Anyone of fair intelligence can master a given amount
of subject matter and present it to a class; but it is
a far more difficult thing to understand the individual,
to master the inner secrets of the mind, the heart,
and the springs of action of the learner."1
!Betts, George Herbert, Hoiv to Teach Religion. (The Abingdon Press.
Copyright 1910).
The writer's father-in-law, Dr. C. F. Cheverton,
gave him this bit of advice several years ago and it
has proved invaluable ever since. He said, "religion,
is caught, not taught." In other words, if we, as
teachers, are to achieve the goals and objectives out-
lined for our educational program by our leaders, we
must first establish or create the proper classroom
atmosphere so that learning can take place.
Since many of our wards, like most of the churches
in this nation, have had for many years some kind of
an educational program with teachers that range
in personality and ability to teach from superior to
the lowest levels of inadequacy, and with programs
that all too often have had no particular relationship
to the needs of the students; the result has been that
our religious educational programs have often made
little impression upon the minds and hearts of our
participants. Surely we should not want these con-
748
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
ditions to exist. So this article is offering you, the
teacher, the opportunity, not as a "producer" but as a
"consumer" to examine the quality of our classes.
In teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, regardless
of the age-level, there are four basic teaching ques-
tions that should be kept in mind if we are to achieve
the proper classroom atmosphere which will enhance
the learning process.
First, do we create a class in which the basic
psychological needs of each class member will be
met? Teachers need to know and to recognize early,
the organic and/or physical requirements. Proper
attention should be given prior to the class time to
the heating, lighting, ventilation, and cleanliness of
the room. Attractive rooms are made by a satis-
factory seating arrangement. The seating arrange-
ment should be selected which will provide a maximum
of face-to-face contact. Students enjoy seeing each
other— not staring at the back of someone's neck.
Where possible, chairs or desks ought to be arranged
something like first and second arrangements in Fig-
ure I.
Do not always arrange the chairs in the traditional
style like third arrangement in Figure 1.
By arranging the seating in a semicircle or as shown
in one of the heretofore mentioned diagrams, the
teacher has not only set the stage for class members
to get better acquainted with one another, but he has
also created a situation where the need for individual
recognition can be met. Students tend to respond
more naturally in classrooms where they have been
made to feel "at home" and where they can be re-
garded as individuals of worth. It is not uncommon
in many of our programs to have students attend the
same class for a year or more and still not know per-
sonally, several of their classmates. A real part of
our learning experience comes from associating with
others and feeling their spirit, enthusiasm, and vitality.
It has been the writer's experience that in classes
where a greater sense of belonging has been achieved
by rearranging the seating, the need for discipline
has declined remarkably. The teacher should also
remember to keep a permissive atmosphere in the
class in order that class members will always feel
free to express themselves. If a teacher has made
adequate preparation of his lesson material, knows the
interests, talents, and ambitions of his class members,
and then sets the stage in the classroom by arranging
the seating so that the best possible personal contact
can be realized, he is well on his way to accomplishing
his goal.
Second, do we keep our classes "gospel-centered"?
By this is not meant that the welfare of the student is
slighted but rather that the gospel or subject to be
taught should be our point of interest instead of the
teacher. All too often teachers in the Church feel
that it is their responsibility or duty to become authori-
ties on every subject and that they must be in a posi-
tion to answer every question asked by a student
regardless of the outcome. This, of course, is foolish.
It is true that teachers need to be properly prepared
and current in their research, but no one can be ex-
pected to know all the answers. When students can
come to realize that even the instructors are still
learning, they are not as apt to lose their respect or
admiration for them if the instructors have to say in
answer to a question, "I don't know." The teacher
in the gospel-centered class, in a sense shifts the burden
of "being on the spot" himself to the entire class who
finds it their equal responsibility to seek and to find
out. The teacher, then, becomes the senior student.
Instead of feeling inadequate or embarrassed when a
difficult or impossible question arises, the teacher
can say in all honesty, "I don't know but I will find
out" or "we will seek the solution together." In this
way the students not only have a greater amount of
respect for the teacher but they are motivated more
in the learning process. Thus our diagram of the
gospel-centered class would look like the first part ( A )
of Figure 2.
Rather than like the second part (B) of Figure 2.
The gospel-centered class places a greater amount
of emphasis on the "doing" phases of the activity ap-
proach which leads us to our third question.
Third, do we recognize the psychology of partici-
pation? It is a well-known fact that people will sup-
port activities and programs in which they feel they
are a part. By following our second principle of
having a gospel-centered class, students, through the
guidance of their teacher, will find many opportuni-
ties to perform or to take an active part in classroom
activities. Students learn to solve real problems by
actually participating in class projects, service projects,
individual research, etc., instead of relying on the
teacher to do all the work. Teachers and students, by
planning together and working as a team, become
partners in fulfilling ( Continued on page 779 )
OCTOBER 1959
749
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3MBN ©f ifc© MOIHiOfl BATTALION
by Mabel Harmer
Shortly after the arrival of the Mormon Battalion
in California the commanding officer, Lieutenant
Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, issued a statement
congratulating the members upon the successful com-
pletion of their journey in which he remarked, "History
may be searched in vain for an equal march of in-
fantry." Most certainly history reveals no march of
such great distance and almost unbelievable hardship
which was also shared by women.
None of them could foresee that the journey would
entail such trials as living for weeks at a time on half
rations or less, marching over miles of hot desert
sand without water, and having to cut their way
literally through mountain passes, and yet these were
people who knew well enough the vicissitudes of
traveling over unbroken trails. Probably the main
reason whv these forty women (most of them with
young children) were willing to risk the perils of this
long journey was to prevent being separated from
their husbands for a long period.
More than five hundred members of the Bat-
talion began from Council Bluffs on July 20, 1846.
From the very first their way was beset with difficulties.
The weather was extremely hot, and the day's marches
were unreasonably long. No cooking utensils and
very few supplies of any kind were issued until the
company reached Fort Leavenworth some ten days
later. At one time supplies failed to reach them,
and they were without flour for two days. In spite
of difficulties, Zadock K. Judd reports in his journal
750
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
they "traveled down the Missouri River for Fort
Leavenworth, happy and cheerful, dancing and sing-
ing."
The companies were outfitted with arms, ammuni-
tion, and supplies at Fort Leavenworth, where they
camped for twelve days. On the first leg of the
journey from Fort Leavenworth to Sante Fe, they
were overtaken by a severe wind and thunderstorm
which blew down nearly every tent in camp. The
experiences of two of the wives— probably typical of
all— is recounted by Daniel Tyler in his history of the
Mormon Battalion. He says that Mrs. Melissa Coray
was in her carriage when the storm broke, and the
force of the wind began to drive it away. She jumped
to the ground and faced the driving rain and hail
rather than trust her safety to a wind-driven carriage.
In another wagon was Mrs. Celia Hunt, ill with chills
and fever, while her twin babies were being cared for
by their father Jefferson Hunt, in a tent. When the
tent blew down, the babies were in danger of being
either suffocated or drowned, but fortunately they
escaped without injury.
On the twenty-eighth of August occurred the first
death among the women when elderly Jane Bosco
passed away. Before daylight the following morning
John, her husband— not a soldier— died also, and the
two were buried in one grave.
Along the heartbreaking trail they marched, some-
times as many as twenty-five miles in a single day.
The oxen and mules were not in fit condition for such
a journey since most of them had come all the way
from Nauvoo that same year and were worn out before
starting. At times the water was extremely scarce,
and what could be found was so revolting in taste
as to be almost unfit for use. At one time they drove
hundreds of buffalo out of a pond before they could
get at the water.
From Henry W. Bigler we learn of some of the
ups and downs of the journey, shared alike by both
men and women. He wrote:
"August 15. Company B. baggage wagon broke
down and did not get into camp until the next morn-
ing. This left us without tents and supper. It was
decided not to move our camp but to wait for the
arrival of hospital wagons to carry our sick, but owing
to our beef cattle getting in the corn of the Indians
and destroying their patches, we moved on four
miles.
"Lieutenant Smith ordered all the sick men out of
the wagons and said that if they did not walk he
would tie them to the wagons and drag them unless
they took such medicines as Dr. Sanderson prescribed.
"Some of the boys went to the top of a mountain,
south of our camp, and amused themselves by rolling
large boulders down the mountain while the others
in camp sang songs, fiddled, and danced. The Colonel
swore that he did not see how it was that when the
men who could hardly keep up with the command
could keep the fiddle going with dancing when they
got into camp."
Another member said that they had several good
fiddlers in camp but only one fiddle. They would
dance at night and felt more rested than if they sat
still.
Of one day's journey, Tyler wrote:
"We traveled eighteen miles and camped again on
the Cimarron and had to dig in the sand in the bed
of the river for water for both man and beast."
Samuel H. Rogers wrote of the same day:
"It appears that the {Continued on page 754)
OCTOBER 1959
751
Sweeping That Long Driveway
w'^F*
by Ruth C. Ikerman
Her favorite possession seems to
be a toy broom with which she can
sweep like the older people in the
block. Sometimes she ties a red
ribbon on the handle, to match the
bow in her own bouncing brown
curls.
Together the little girl and the
broom skipped up the sidewalk
where my neighbor and I stood
talking about the most recent com-
munity highway tragedy.
A little boy had been hit by an
automobile. Its driver had mis-
judged the distance to the bicycle
when he swerved to miss a piece of
broken glass.
We hushed our voices as she ar-
rived, but already she knew and
said, "I heard the noise when the
white car came to take him away.
Say, what do you call that up and
down noise anyway?" she demanded.
"Siren," we said, exchanging
glances above her head. How well
she had described what can happen
within the home when the ambu-
lance takes away a loved one because
of an accident, and the hopes of the
heart go up and down with the re-
port of the doctors.
She began to imitate the siren,
sweeping steadily with her little
broom. My neighbor said, "Some-
thing has got to be done about
these accidents. They come too close
to home for comfort." Then we
talked of other things.
Suddenly we missed our little
friend. Turning we saw her in our
own driveway, squatting down on
the pavement, looking over a tiny
pile of trash she had swept up with
her little broom.
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We walked over curiously. There
was a nail big enough to damage an
automobile tire if hit at the proper
angle. A piece of jagged green glass
had probably been carried here by
one of the larger dogs of the neigh-
borhood to be buried near his favor-
ite bone in the nearby hedge. There
was a scrap of paper which could
well blow up to obscure the vision
of a windshield.
With her broom she had swept
them into one neat pile, and now she
wondered what to do next. Stoop-
ing to pick up the debris for her, I
asked, "Whatever made you decide
to sweep my driveway for me this
morning?"
Gravely she looked at me and
said, "It was because of the boy who
got hit. You both said something
had to be done about accidents. So
I thought I'd take care of the first
driveway. But it's sure awful long."
She sat down on the grass, holding
her tiny broom almost as a doll in
her arms. And I went inside for
a larger broom to clear off the curb
and gutter in front of my own house.
"Say, how long is your driveway?"
she called to me from the lawn.
I remembered how we had started
from this driveway to enjoy the roads
in our own state and across the na-
tion into foreign countries.
Looking at her sweet, unscarred
face, I wondered how to tell her that
she had just shown me something
about how long my driveway is.
Now I know it extends from my
home into the community, the state,
and across the entire homeland of
America into her neighboring coun-
tries.
Because her little broom had
shown me that my own driveway
must first be made safe and clean,
I would try on her behalf and that
of the injured boy to learn to treat
every highway as my own home
driveway.
Who sends the elders? The God
of Israel sends them. It is his work.
There is no mortal man that is so
much interested in the success of an
elder when he is preaching the gos-
pel as the Lord that sent him to
preach to the people who are the
Lord's children.
—President Lorenzo Snow
"Be
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darling...
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OCTOBER 1959
OCTU
753
Women of the
Mormon Battalion
{Continued from page 751)
Colonel and Surgeon are determined
to kill us, first by forced marches to
make us sick and then by compelling
us to take calomel and to walk and
do duty." It soon became apparent
that the journey could be com-
pleted by only the strongest of the
men. Therefore on the sixteenth
of September a detachment of fami-
lies and invalid men were ordered
to return to Pueblo, farther up on
the Arkansas River, and spend the
winter at that small trading post.
Captain Higgins was placed in com-
mand. On this journey one of the
members, Norman Sharp, acciden-
tally shot himself in the arm and
died, leaving his widow and her
young sister to go on alone.
The rest of the Battalion marched
on to Santa Fe, the first town of any
importance on their route, and ar-
rived there between the ninth and
twelfth of October. Here they were
met by Colonel Cooke, who had
been appointed commanding officer
following the death of Captain Allen.
After taking command, one of his
first acts was to order the rest of the
families and ill persons to turn back
to Pueblo. The order read in part:
"Captain Jas. Brown will take
command of the men reported by the
Assistant Surgeon as incapable from
sickness and debility of undertaking
the present march to California. The
Lieutenant Colonel, commanding,
deems that the laundresses on this
march will be accompanied by much
suffering and would be a great en-
cumbrance to the expedition. It is
ordered that all be attached to Cap-
tain Brown's party."
Captain Brown was ordered to
draw rations for twenty-one days and
to march within two days.
The order produced considerable
dissatisfaction. None of the families
wanted to be separated. In some
cases the husbands wanted to go
back to Pueblo with their families,
and in other instances, the wives
pleaded to be allowed to continue
to California. At length some of the
men were permitted to return and,
according to Colonel Cooke, "five
wives of officers were reluctantly al-
lowed to accompany the march." In
the records we have been able to
find the names of only four. They
are Susan Davis, the wife of Captain
Daniel Davis; Lydia Hunter, the
wife of Captain Jesse D. Hunter;
Phoebe Draper Palmer Brown, the
wife of Ebenezer Brown; and Melissa
Burton Coray. They were allowed
to continue only on the condition
that their husbands paid all of their
expenses; hence, it is to be supposed
that they no longer acted in their
original capacity as laundresses for
the various companies.
Captain Brown's company made
fairly good time to Pueblo, consider-
ing the weakened condition of both
men and teams. In nearly every
case, it was only men who were
considered unfit to journey farther
west who were allowed to return.
They were exactly one month on
the way, which was unfortunate con-
sidering that they had provisions
for only twenty-one days. At Pueblo
they enjoyed a happy reunion with
the Higgins detachment, already
settled for the winter. They were
also welcomed by a company of
Saints from Mississippi who were
spending the winter there.
They immediately began to build
log cabins for the winter, the able-
bodied doing the work for the sick
and turning the first cabins over to
them for their use. Several babies
were born during the winter, two of
them died the same day and were
buried together. Several deaths are
recorded among the men but none
among the women.
They spent the winter in a com-
paratively pleasant manner and left
early in the spring of '47 to join the
Saints from Winter Quarters in their
final trek to the Rockies. The Mis-
sissippi Saints, as they were called,
were slightly in advance of the first
company, and the Battalion mem-
bers were a short distance behind.
They had been on the march for
about two weeks when they learned
that the vanguard company was just
ahead of them.
Some of the Mississippi Saints ar-
rived in the Salt Lake Valley two
days ahead of Brigham Young, and
included in the company were six
women. They were Elizabeth
Crow, wife of Robert Crow, and
their five daughters, Harriet, Eliza-
The King of Spain's daughter
Will stand for all time
Bewitched by the tree
In the nursery rhyme.
And Housman's ghost surely
Is caught even now
By the bright drifts of snow
On the cherry tree bough.
MY TREE
by Jean Little
I, too, have been spellbound
And gaze at my tree,
Held there by a vision,
Which only I see,
—Of a vast arid valley
Infertile, save where
One green cedar grows
In the parched desert air.
One tree!— In its shadow
Spent creatures find rest,
And deep in its branches
The grateful birds nest.
No cities rise near it.
But winds blow from afar,
And it is companioned
By mountain and star.
Then, men come. It watches
Them struggle and build.
Soon, stretching around it,
Are fields they have tilled.
And as its life ebbs,
Other trees spring from seed.
But, Tree, you were first
Of the pioneer breed.
You stand in their shrine
Boxed away from the sky.
My tree, you are dreaming
The same dream as I.
754
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
beth J., Isa Vinda Exene, Isa Minda
Almarene Crow, and Mrs. Mathilda
Jane Crow Therlkill. They were the
first Mormon women to enter the
valley of their future home.
On July 29th, five days after the
main company had arrived, the
: Battalion company came in. Ac-
^ cording to the William Clayton
* journal, they had "twenty-nine wag-
gons, and one carriage. The soldiers
•came in military order headed by
fifes and side drums. They came
to their future home in fitting style."
On August 9th the wife of John
Steele, a member of the Battalion,
became the mother of the first white
child to be born in the Salt Lake
Valley. The baby was named Young
Elizabeth Steele in honor of Presi-
dent Young and Queen Elizabeth.
Immediately upon leaving Santa
Fe, the main part of the Battalion,
with the greater part of the journey
still ahead, rations were reduced—
the first of many times before they
reached their final goal. Colonel
Cooke issued very strict commands
concerning the conduct of the camp,
but the journey would never have
been completed successfully without
a stern commander and a people
who could serve unflinchingly under
the most adverse circumstances.
The few wagons in the company
could be used only for carrying
supplies and the men who were un-
able to walk because of illness. In-
deed much of the time, the men had
to help pull the wagons through the
deep sand. Melissa Coray, who was
a bride of only three months at the
time she left Council Bluffs, said
that at times Colonel Cooke allowed
her to ride his white horse. She
learned to carry a pebble in her
mouth so that she would not get so
thirsty during the long marches over
the waterless desert.
Onward they toiled, through sand
and over mountains, until the be-
ginning of 1847 found them well
into California territory.
On the 1st of February, Nathaniel
Jones wrote:
"We have now been one hundred
sixty-three days from Santa Fe. We
started with sixty pounds of flour
to each man, thirty days' ration of
pork, two-thirds rations of sugar. It
was all claimed to be sixty days'
rations but we lost several hundred
pounds of flour on the Gila river.
Thus we traveled under greater em-
barrassment than it is possible to
realize, except by passing through
them. We have opened roads
through impassable mountains and
trackless deserts, without wood,
water, or grass and almost without
provisions. We now find ourselves
without clothes and are worn down
by fatigue. For nearly thirty days
we have had nothing but beef and
not enough of that all the time."
The Battalion was ordered to en-
camp at San Diego. Shortly after
her arrival there, Lydia Hunter, the
wife of Captain Jesse D. Hunter,
gave birth to a son, the first white
child to be born of American par-
ents in the Southwest. The child,
who was named Diego Hunter, died
soon after birth; two weeks later
the mother also passed away, weak-
ened, from the strain of the journey
and the lack of food. She had an-
other son, James, who survived her.
The only child mentioned as com-
pleting the entire march with the
Battalion was the young son of Cap-
tain Daniel C. Davis by a former
marriage. Four older children were
left in the care of relatives in Winter
Quarters.
Upon the discharge of the Bat-
talion, one company of men re-en-
listed for a period of six months in
order to garrison the post of San
Diego, and Captain Davis was put
in command. After their final dis-
charge, he and his wife Susan, with
his young son, traveled on to Utah
and settled in Farmington, Davis
County, so named in his honor.
Immediately upon their discharge,
the majority of the Battalion mem-
bers made preparations to return
east to meet their famiiles, either in
the Salt Lake Valley or in Winter
Quarters. They had traveled as far
as the scene of the Donner tragedy
when they met Samuel Brannan re-
turning from the Salt Lake Valley.
Later they met Captain James Brown
who brought word from the Church
Authorities that those who had not
means of subsistence had better re-
main in California until the following
spring, obtain work, and then bring
their earnings home with them.
About half of the company turned
back, many of them to go to work
at Sutter's Fort, and among this
group were Phoebe Brown and
Melissa Coray with their husbands.
They had been at Sutter's Fort only
a short time when the discovery of
gold in the millstream set the world
racing toward the west coast and
changed Sutter's peaceful ranch into
bedlam.
The Mormons, including the two
women, worked in the gold fields
during the winter, and when they
made the journey to Utah the fol-
lowing spring, they were able to
bring considerable amounts of gold
dust as well as some valuable seeds.
Phoebe Brown rode the entire dis-
tance back to Utah on a mule, which
was a very luxurious mode of travel
compared to her previous travel.
She and her husband settled in
Draper. Their arrival in Utah
brought the last of those valiant
women who dared to undertake a
journey which for toil and privation
is without a parallel in the history
of the country.
AUTUMN RAIN IS VISITING
by Robert Avrett
An autumn rain is visiting tonight,
Almost apologetically, it seems,
Like welcome but unbidden guest who deems
Arrivals things that should be timed just right,
Nor wants that his be taken for a slight,
But pardoned by old friends whom he esteems
And who in other days have shared his dreams,
While open fireplace cast its mellow light.
Yet autumn rain has need for no excuse
For ending summer's absolute do-
main;
So long postponed adieus find ready ears.
Protracted seasons may entail abuse
Of hospitality; and they, like pain,
Must be evicted to dispel old fears.
OCTOBER 1959
755
Today, Today I Am a Man
(Continued from page 740)
becoming an alcoholic, it likewise
will have to be a credit to his own
judgment. The "Minors Not Al-
lowed" signs no longer keep him out.
And, if he visits Las Vegas or
Reno, he will learn that the law
assumes that by this time he will
have acquired enough sense not to
gamble. Therefore, he will find
there is no law to keep him out of
the casinos and no law to help him
get his money back after he has
dumped it down the hungry gullet
of a slot machine or into the trap-
door lap of a dice table.
It is important for Junior to catch
a whole new perspective of life. As
a full-fledged citizen he is expected
to be a patron of law and order, good
government, and intelligent, happy
living. Society no longer feels either
the desire or the necessity of treat-
ing him like a baby. From here on
he will be honored as a man; a man
of judgment, controlled appetites,
tempered emotions, and restrained
conduct; a man of skill and ambition
with a warm social sense and a
genuine sense of service. Some 21-
year-olds, of course, do not measure
up. Some act at least part of the
time like little boys indulging
in emotional immaturity, explosive
tempers, impulsive decisions, and
childish antics. Some even go
snorting across the fence line of the
law. When this happens the fence-
riding forces of law and order move
into the gap like a charging bull-
dozer.
Society is far less patient with a
21-year-old who assaults, robs,
cheats, or steals than with a growing
boy. A 21-year-old hears the terms
"adult criminal" applied to him, and
he doesn't like it. It is the com-
munity's way of saying, "Stand up,
Junior. Be a man!"
Fortunately, however, the vast
majority of the nation's new citizens
are ready for their responsibilities
and can say with the Apostle Paul:
"When I was a child, I spake as a
child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child: but when I be-
came a man, I put away childish
things." (I Corinthians 13:11.)
may have wondered why the voting
privilege had to wait until 21. Now
he may be able to see the reason.
Junior has certainly changed his
thinking since 18. For some reason,
18 and 19 were revolutionary years.
They were years of doubt and chal-
lenge. This was all to the good and
an important part of growing up,
but probably it was far from being
a period of reflected wisdom.
In fact, dictators and imperialists
nearly always try to capitalize on the
reckless, revolutionary spirit of 18
and 19-year-olds. Hitler surveyed
the youth of his own day and said:
"Look at these young men and boys!
What material! I shall eradicate
the thousands of years of human
domestication. Brutal youth— that is
what I am after. ... I want to see
once more in its eyes the gleam . . .
of the beast of prey. With these I
can make a new world . . . and create
a new order!"
Often, even at 21, we find there is
still some of the revolutionary spirit
a
My Vote Is as Good as
the President's"
As a full-fledged citizen, Junior
can now vote. When he was 18 he
SEED OF PROMISE
by Betty Ventura
At Cumorah's close, like shattered
stone,
Ten thousand Nephite warriors strew
the field.
The golden age is o'er, the record
sealed:
Moroni walks a wilderness alone.
Gone the prophet-kings, the loyal
few,
Gone those of burning faith, contrite-
ness, trust.
White templed cities crumble into
dust
Where kneeling throngs their Savior's
blessing knew.
But yet shall Mormon's record be
unearthed,
That to Lehi's seed it might declare
The destiny and honor of their birth;
That they, the once rebellious blood,
might stand-
Where once stood Lehi's other sons—
and bear
Their father's witness in a Gentile
land.
smoldering beneath the surface, but,
for the most part, it will have been
sublimated by maturity and experi-
ence. Everything else being equal,
a citizen of 21 will make a far more
intelligent voter than he would have
at 18. Recently, a 21-year-old re-
flected some of that intelligence
when he commented, "Say, my vote
is as good as the President's!"
Increased Capacity for Worry
Psychologists tell us why a 21-
year-old makes a more responsible
citizen. It is because of his increased
capacity for worry. Not that Junior
couldn't worry in his 'teens; he did.
But his worries in those days were
mostly about himself. Now he has
developed a capacity to worry about
things like the high cost of living,
the international situation, inflation,
civil liberties, the rising crime rate,
union-management problems, juve-
nile delinquency, and the national
debt.
A wholesome amount of worry is
not only a necessary ingredient for
good citizenship but the mainspring
of action in getting community prob-
lems solved. Junior ought to be
fully aware of what would happen
if all of us refused to be bothered
with unpleasant things like crime,
inflation, and the boast of the Com-
munists that they will soon conquer
the world. Obviously, if we refused
to be bothered, this would be the
last generation to live in freedom.
That is why political scientists say
an alert, worry-motivated citizenry
is the kind which solves problems
and therefore continually improves
civilization.
We also want Junior to recognize
the kind of worry that digs graves.
Worry is a perishable commodity
and must not be stored. It should
be promptly turned into constructive
action and thereby disposed of.
Stored-up worries tend to turn into
pickles and vinegar and consequent-
ly endanger sound mental health.
This is the kind of worry most peo-
ple have heard about and therefore
conclude that all kinds of worry
should be avoided. This, of course,
is not true. We want Junior to
recognize worry for what it is— fuel.
When put to work it makes him a
success, makes him a better citizen,
a better parent, a better career man.
On the other hand, it is volatile
stuff. If stored, it explodes.
(Continued on page 758)
756
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
New Yorkers were SHOCKED
By The Recent EXPOSE of
PATENT MEDICINE PRACTICES
Now You Too Can Learn How To SAVE...
STOP PAYING HIGH PRICES FOR
VITA
I
A recent public service study of Patent
Medicines in one of New York's leading
evening newspapers, devoted one entire
installment to vitamins and disclosed
many interesting highlights about the
sale of Vitamins and Vitamin-Mineral
combinations.
One of the startling revelations in this
frank article was the wide variance of
Vitamin prices.
The following three paragraphs taken
from the series, as it appeared, are of
particular concern to every family buy-
ing Vitamins.
"Any particular vitamin bottled un-
der one label is, for all practical and
therapeutic purposes, the same as if it is
bottled under another label. The fact is,
most of the Vitamin concentrates con-
sumed in America are produced by only
a few companies.
"The list of ingredients in a Vitamin
compound is one thing the consumer can
almost always depend on to be correct.
Any company which fails to label the
bottle with the exact formula and amount
(or unit strength) of each ingredient
risks a seizure by the U.S. Government.
"Bearing that in mind, it is interest-
ing to pick up a few Vitamin catalogs
and compare the prices charged by dif-
ferent companies for the same Vitamin
compounds."
Following publication of the install-
ment we received hundreds of telephone
calls requesting copies of the Hudson
Vitamin Catalog. This interest prompted
us to tell the entire nation our story.
Hudson Vitamin Products has been
serving doctors and nurses for over 25
years and now you, too, can purchase
your Vitamins direct from Hudson at
savings that are up to 50% and more.
Page after page in the Free Hudson
Catalog shows tremendous dollar sav-
ings on Vitamins, Vitamin-Mineral com-
binations and Food Supplements.
Here is one example from the Hudson
Vitamin Catalog : A very popular multi-
ple vitamin that is taken once-a-day,
regularly sells for about $3.10 per 100
. . . the Hudson formula sells for only
$1.50 per 100.
Here is another — a well-known high
potency B complex formula with Vitamin
C and minerals, nationally advertised at
$5.95 per 100 . . . can be purchased for
only $2.25 per 100 direct from the Hud-
son Vitamin Catalog.
These are only two examples that you
will find in our 32 page catalog that is
simple, easy to read and has been a
Vitamin buying guide for millions from
coast-to-coast.
Write for the Catalog and show it to
your doctor if you like — but, by all
means, discover for yourself why Hud-
son has become a direct money-saving
source for Vitamins throughout the
nation. All Hudson Vitamin Products
are sold with a complete money back
guarantee.
HUDSON VITAMIN PRODUCTS, INC.
11 West 19th Street, Dept. M-658, New York 11, New York
Hudson Vitamins
have been awarded the
parents' magazine
commendation seal
HUDSON VITAMIN PRODUCTS, Inc. Dept. M-658
11 West 19th Street, New York 11, New York
Please mail me your Free Hudson Vitamin Catalog.
NAME.
ADDRESS.
CITY
.ZONE.
.STATE-
OCTOBER 1959
757
"Mom, How's my
Score Card?"
When parents see a boy reach 21,
they always hope they have helped
him acquire the habits, attitudes,
skills, and social amenities neces-
sary to become a successful adult.
It is a time of unspoken evaluation,
and, for some parents as well as
boys, a time of regret. But for
most parents and boys it will be a
time of great hope and great pride.
A boy may even respond to a sudden
urge and say, "Mom, how's my score
card?"
There are a number of things we
certainly hope our boy has achieved
by 21: '
First, by this time we hope Junior
has learned the difference between
being a character and having a
character. Character is like a per-
sonality. It involves the sum total
of a man. Character is the develop-
ment of a human being's best self;
Lincoln called it "the better angel"
in each of us. When we say a young
man has character, we mean he
stands for something. He is not a
sniveling, servile, spineless parasite,
but a hearty, friendly, honest, out-
going sort of person who makes good
company, a good employee, a good
husband, a pleasant neighbor, and
a good soldier.
Second, we hope our boy has
acquired a tremendous capacity for
good hard work. In certain circles
this may not be in style, but it is a
popular commodity on the labor
market. Those of us who have had
to hire and train many hundreds of
young men during our professional
careers count capacity for hard work
among the prime virtues of a 21-
year-old who wants to go places. It
is not merely that he will produce
more and help the company stay in
business. Equally important is the
fact that a man with a good "work
quotient" is a pleasure to have
around. His work shows in his
voice, in his handshake, in his stride,
and in his pay envelope. He is
available for an emergency, volun-
teers suggestions, carries the ball
during his regular shift, and, where
necessary, after his shift. His en-
thusiasm changes work into pleasure
and a "job" into a "position." It is
a great achievement to build a boy
into this kind of man.
Third, we want our boy to be
honest. He wasn't born honest. Nor
was he born dishonest. Both are
learned. Almost any normal person
is honest when it is convenient or
self-serving to be honest. The test
comes when it is embarrassing or a
temporary disadvantage to be hon-
est. A boy learns from his parents
whether or not to hold the line. If
they avoid social pressures both in
and out of the family by telling "lit-
tle white lies," then Junior does the
same. If they face up to each situa-
tion without garbling the truth,
Junior has a better target to shoot
for.
The boy who is honest has a high
survival rating. He may not be as
flashy as the boy with a quick line
and the ready lie, but he wears bet-
ter. We want our boy to wear well.
We want him to know that honesty
is an attitude, and it should have
become a habit. In the final analysis
it simply means he can be trusted;
trusted in what he says and what
he does. Employers pay premium
wages to employees they can trust.
Fourth, we want our boy to be
morally strong. This may seem a
little old-fashioned, but it is still
civilization's best foundation for a
PROVIDENCE
by Patricia Duff McGinley
God, who made babies to fill loving
laps,
In his wisdom and mercy, also made
naps.
happy home and a solid family life.
Mutual trust is built before marriage
when a girl finds that a boy is
morally disciplined and can keep
his emotions under control. It helps
her have implicit faith in him after
marriage. Morality is therefore a
special kind of honesty which per-
mits a young husband to be trusted
by the most important people in
his life. Almost everyone admires
moral integrity, even the less moral.
Fifth, we want our boy to have
become a good student. He should
have cultivated a sharp appetite for
good books. We live in a technical
world of extremely advanced cul-
tural complexity. The boy who has
not acquired a thirst for knowledge
is likely to get left behind. There
are thousands of bright youthful
personalities in our land who appear
overwhelmed by the world they live
in. Actually, this is the most favored
generation of the race. But only
the good student will know about it.
We want our boy to have a dynamic
part in the throbbing heartbeat of
modern history as mankind prepares
to launch into the great new space
age.
Sixth, Junior should have become
a skilful problem solver. A young
child attacks a problem by pulling
a tantrum. Some grownups do the
same thing. We want our boy to
have acquired a sound sense of hu-
man engineering. We want him to
have learned to attack a problem by
1— clearly defining it, 2— probing and '
studying until he has selected the
most practical solution, and 3— gen-
erating the necessary steam to carry
out the solution. We also want him
to have learned the prayer of the an-
cient philosopher who said: "God
give me strength to change what
should be changed and the patience
to endure what must remain."
Seventh, we would not want our
boy to have attained 21 without ac-
quiring a sense of belonging in the
universe. This means a strong re-
ligious faith built on truth. A gen-
eration ago it was popular to say
that a religious faith was for the
weak. Time is proving that an en-
lightened religious faith is the su-
preme virtue of the strong. A boy
of 21 should have already learned
that he is part of a carefully designed
universe governed by a God who
personally loves him. Those who
say religion is only for children are
usually those who have never tried
adult religion.
Eighth, we want our boy to have
ambition. This, too, is primarily an
attitude or an appetite which parents
can help create. They create it by
holding before a boy the vision of
the man they know he can one day
be. The vision must not be too
bright, not beyond his capacity of
attainment. And it must not focus
too soon. In early youth he wants
to be a policeman, a cowboy, or a
deep sea diver. As he matures his
interests change and so do his am-
bitions. Perhaps they turn to law,
science, medicine, engineering, me-
chanics, aviation, or electronics. The\
important thing is to keep his search-
ing "upward reach" scintillating and
alive. A set of encouraging parents
is the most vital single ingredient in
this process.
Parents who think they have prob-
lems might consider the case of
758
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Thomas A. Edison. Young Tom was
expelled from school because of
his ambitions. Before he could read
he wanted to study high school
subjects. He was labeled incor-
rigible by his exasperated teacher
and sent home to his worried par-
ents. Even at home his ambitions
soon created a neighborhood panic.
Finally his mother decided to guide
all these big ideas into more con-
structive channels. By the time
young Tom was 9 he and his
mother had carefully read Gibbon's
Decline and Fall of the Roman Em-
pire, Hume's History of England,
Sears' History of the World, Burton's
Anatomy of Melancholy, and The
Dictionary of Sciences. Such was
the early guidance of a boy's career
whose inventions later created in-
dustries worth more than twenty-five
billion dollars.
Ninth, we certainly will not want
to close this list of achievements
without mentioning just one more-
Junior's sense of humor. Most 21-
year-olds have a fathomless capacity
for humor, but like other human
qualities it should have matured.
In his childhood days Junior re-
sponded to the "humor of absurdity."
He loved the absurdity of slapstick
comedy, pie-throwing contests, or
seeing an elderly woman slip on the
ice and crash to the sidewalk.
In later years Junior tastes enough
of life to feel sympathy for people
in unfortunate situations. He seldom
laughs at people slipping or falling.
He identifies his own feelings with
those of the victim. His sense of
humor now requires more subtle
things. He graduates to the level
of "hidden meaning humor."
Finally, however, Junior should
attain the rich, warm glow of grown-
up humor. Adult humor is hearty
but not boisterous. It is not laugh-
ter to be heard but laughter to be
felt. It grows out of the deep,
golden depths of the human per-
sonality which reflect the vast
richness of life. It is the laughter
of a father who is smothered under
an avalanche of welcoming arms as
a bevy of little people shout,
"Daddy's home!" It is the laughter
of the happy hunter as he brings
home the game at the end of the
day. Adult humor is the music of
the heart— tuned in on the universe.
Reflections of a Parent
But whether our son has attained
all of these desirable things or
only part of them, the important
thing is that suddenly he is 21! It
seems almost impossible to realize
it. He grew up so fast. Now we are
sorry we didn't take time to enjoy
him more. Perhaps in the twilight
of a quiet summer evening we thumb
through the pages of the family
album. It sparks some happy
memories for a mom and dad. As
a baby he was the cutest little fellow
in the town. At four he was a mon-
key on wheels— all over the place.
At six the camera caught him
proudly grinning without his two
front teeth. Age 10 was truly his
golden year. And wasn't he sprout-
ing out of his Sunday suit at 13!
Then there are all those wonderful
high school pictures. You can al-
most see yourself in every scene and
remember how it used to be in your
day, at your school. The college
pictures are great, too, but not quite
so sentimental. And there is his
picture in uniform. He made a
handsome serviceman! No wonder
the girls fell for him. Funny how
he seemed sort of oblivious to it.
Except, of course, for Jo Anne. How
lovely she looks in her wedding
dress. They make a marvelous
couple. . . .
As a mom and dad look back over
the past fifth of a century, they
seem caught between the senti-
mental flood of happy memories and
the relief they feel for a mission ac-
complished. They know they made
some mistakes, but they marvel how
well it turned out after all. One
thing they can't help mentioning—
how some of Junior's childhood
vices turned out to be his grownup
virtues. They remember how they
worried over his destructive pro-
clivities—how he took the family
clock apart, unstrung the bedroom
radio, wrecked the first family TV.
Now he earns his living mending
such things! Or they remember
worrying about his reading so much
but now they are proud as punch
that he made the national honor
fraternity. They think of Nancy
Hanks Lincoln gently scolding her
boy for being a dreamer and not
splitting the rails for the farm fence.
And all the time she was raising
one of America's greatest presidents!
Mother Nature surely has a way of
fooling parents.
Perhaps this is why raising a boy
so often seems like a chore. Only
when the job is practically com-
pleted does it suddenly seem like the
greatest happiness of a lifetime.
And how great the reward of par-
ents who were blessed with a boy
who really tried. It makes a mom
and dad know that it was all worth
while, and they cannot help saying
with the wisdom of the ages :
Raising boys is a partnership be-
tween parents and God; how much
better to build men than mend them!
The Comparative Method
(Continued from page 747)
but of a quick and violent end.
(8) Finally the downgrading of the
Lamanites is not the fulfilment of
prophecies about the ten tribes after
the pattern of the destruction of
God's people (that would be the
Nephites), their degeneracy is given
a unique explanation that cannot be
found either in Ethan Smith or the
Bible. (To be continued)
FOOTNOTES
00Jas. D. Bales, The Book of Mormon,
(1958).
Even to work out the small number
of seventy-five parallels Bales had to pad
heavily. Thus, both the Book of Mormon
and the Spaulding Manuscript talk about
great civilizations, as what history does
not? This parallel is broken down into
such inevitable points of resemblance as
"both [books] refer to great cities,"
"both . . . represented as having some
scientific knowledge," "Both knew some-
thing of mechanical arts," "both used
iron," "both used coins" (the words "coin"
and "coins," are not mentioned in the
Book of Mormon), "both constructed
fortifications," "both exceeded the present
Indians in works of art and ingenuity,"
etc. Now all these things are inevitable
accompaniments of any civilization: They
are not separate and distinct points of
resemblance at all. One might as well
argue that since both books mention peo-
ple, both imply that people have hands,
hands have fingers, etc., and thus accumu-
late "parallels" by the score.
91M. B. Hogan, " 'A Parallel,' a matter of
chance versus coincidence," in the Rocky
Mountain Mason, Jan. 1956, pp. 17-36.
Elder Roberts' manuscript is still in manu-
script fonn.
""Brodie, op. cit., p. 47, n. 2.
"'Cross, op. cit., p. 81.
n*Josiah Priest, pp. 75-76.
•r'Brodie, op. cit., p. 47 cf. 49, 45, 101.
OCTOBER 1959
759
Kayaks Down the Nile
(Continued from page 739)
swept my companions far down-
stream out of sight by the time I
finished and packed my camera
away.
I no sooner pushed off, hurrying
to catch up, than I was startled half
out of my wits by the sudden violent
appearance of a huge bull hippo.
The monster bobbed to the surface
with a great splash, blowing and
snorting like a fairy tale dragon,
forcing me to swerve close to the
papyrus to dodge him. I was fully
aware that hippos are the largest of
all living, nonruminating land ani-
mals, yet I had always believed them
to be good-natured though lazy
critters with no malice towards hu-
mans unless wounded or defending
their young. I had heard vivid ac-
counts of hippos attacking boats and
even killing people, but usually ac-
cepted them with a tongue-in-cheek
attitude, crediting them to an over-
worked imagination.
But this private opinion, that un-
molested hippos were not dangerous
to man, was completely and ever-
lastingly refuted when the hulking
behemoth came plunging after me
in a vicious charge that left no doubt
as to his intentions. From his nos-
trils, flaring furiously, emitting a
cloud of spray with every snort, to
his stubby tail, he was nearly as
long as my kayak and must have
weighed well over three tons judging
from his monstrous proportions; yet
the enraged beast rushed through
the water after me at a speed un-
believable for an animal his size. I
expected any second to feel his long
yellow tusks crunching down on me
from behind, but with my arms
working like a windmill in a gale,
the double blades of my single pad-
dle churning the water to froth in
a desperate attempt to escape, I
slowly pulled away from him until,
finally, he broke off and dropped
back, having successfully defended
his domain against what must have
seemed to him a fantastic intruder.
I was heaving a sigh of relief over
my narrow escape when downstream
a hundred yards I saw, to my horror,
a whole family of hippos dotting the
surface. They were strung out
across the narrow river in a formida-
ble blockade. At the swift rate I
was being swept along by the rush-
ing current, there was no way to
stop in time to avoid passing the
big river pigs. My only alternative
was to head for the widest gap be-
tween them and pray that I could
get through before they closed the
space. I had time only to get in a
few quick, powerful strokes, but
enough to send me streaking through
the menacing "picket line" at a
dizzy rate, leaving them behind be-
fore they were aware of what had
happened. But the worst was still
ahead.
At the head of a stretch of rapids
I caught up with my companions
and found them, too, in a state of
nervous excitement from hippo en-
counters. Andre informed me that
he counted 112 along the way in
the river alone. The rapids were
short but tricky and gave our kayak-
ing ability a real test. The white
water was a new experience to
Andre and me, for though we had
gone on a shakedown trip on the
Marne and Seine rivers in France to
familiarize ourselves' with our kayaks,
we hadn't encountered any rough
water. Jean was a skilled paddler
with several years of kayaking expe-
rience on all the prominent rivers of
France to his credit, so we did our
best to follow in his wake and imi-
tate his technique. We were hard
pressed in avoiding the masses of
rock looming in our path with the
boats sluggish and difficult to
maneuver from their heavy cargo,
THEY PASSED ME BY
by Ivy Houtz Woolley
Men passed me by—
Their smiles I did not understand;
Their laughter seemed to be
A spark by gladness fanned
By fitful winds into a glow,
Whence they came, I did not know,
For smiles were just as strange to me
As melons on an apple tree.
They passed me by—
Their smiles I did not understand;
Each time they passed, a cinder
warm
Fell on my cheek, my hand.
I gathered up those cinders small
And held them for a while;
A wind came by, they burst to
flame— . : •
I, too, have learned to smile.
but we debouched free safely with
only minor tears in the rubber hulls
from the submerged rocks we
couldn't avoid.
For about twelve miles we were
kept in a constant state of hyper-
tension with the threat of disaster
from the unpredictable amphibians.
They swarmed everywhere on the
narrow stream and in the bordering
papyrus swamps. One old bull,
watching as I glided towards him,
only his massive, battle-scarred head
jutting out of the water, decided he
didn't like what he saw, gave an
indignant roar, and sank out of sight.
A few seconds later I swept by the
spot where he had submerged,
hugging the green bank as close as I
dared, every nerve in my body alert
and tingling. Just as I thought I
had seen the last of him he unex-
pectedly reared to the surface a few
feet behind, scaring the daylights
out of me and came lunging along
in my wake intent on finishing me
off. Again I was forced to flee for
my life, whipping my little shell
through the water as fast as my
aching arms could push it. In an-
other nip and tuck pursuit I wit-
nessed an animal with a build like
a General Sherman tank and weigh-
ing as much as an automobile, charge
through the water at a speed I never
would have dreamed possible. I
managed to elude the cantankerous
beast, but farther along I was chal-
lenged by other rogues who took it
into their heads that it was their
duty to run me off their premises
posthaste.
My arms soon became stiff from
my frantic efforts to evade and out-
strip them. A trio of hippos lolling
in the shallows in the papyrus raised
their heads in amazement as I swept
by. I stared back in equal fascina-
tion for one of them was a rare
freak— an albino! Not really white
but a light glowing pink all over!
Watching hippos from shore or even
from the deck of a substantial
launch is a fascinating pastime, but
paddling in the midst of them in a
fragile "bite-size" midget boat while
they played "ring-around-a-rosy,"
with me as "rosy," was one of the
most ;unnerving experiences of my
life. At times it seemed I was in the
water with them, positioned as I
was; with the rubber seat of my
kayak actually below the waterline,
and the top of the cockpit a scant
eighteen inches above.
(Continued on page 762)
760
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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Kayaks Doion the Nile
(Continued from page 760)
Once past the rapids, it was ex-
hilarating to be whisked along so
rapidly on the boiling current with-
out exerting myself save to dip my
paddle to keep heading straight. The
pleasure of the moment quickly left
me when I analyzed our dangerous
predicament; the three of us racing
single file down a slender, hippo-
infested corridor between solid walls
of papyrus at speeds up to twelve
knots, with no place to make a land-
ing and no practical way of stopping
without upsetting our skittish craft.
It was uncomfortably like being on
a ski slide; a start is made and from
then on there is no turning back;
the course must be followed to the
end. For us the end came as stark
catastrophe.
I was wracking my brain for a
solution to our plight when I became
aware that downstream the river
seemed to be obstructed by a low-
lying screen of scrubby vegetation.
As we glided closer, my kayak in
the lead, I could see this phenome-
non was caused by two dinky islands
lying parallel to each other across
the river, both so rank with luxuriant
tropical growth that their vines and
branches intertwined to form an al-
most impenetrable living web. Be-
fore I had a chance to survey the
situation properly I found myself
upon the islets with only two courses
of action open; I could either at-
tempt to plough through the
ivy-choked channel separating the
islands, or I could dodge around and
gamble on squeezing through the
span of water between the right bank
and the first island. So making a
THE
SPOKEN
WORD
145 NORTH UNIVERSITY, PR0V0 «
762
15 E. 1st So.
Salt Lake City 11, Utah
The basis of credit and
confidence . . .
Richard L. Evans
Last week we talked of the feelings of self-suffi-
ciency that sometimes seem to assert themselves
when people feel sure that they no longer have
need of others, and we reminded ourselves that no
man can be sure he will not have need of others,
ever, nor be sure that he will not need someone soon, no matter how
successful or how assured life looks. In pursuing this theme we
must come to an inevitable conclusion, indeed to one of the fore-
most lessons of life: that the quality of humility is one of the great
qualities of character, and there is no real greatness in anyone with-
out it. And now to follow back the thread by which we come to
this conclusion: Sometimes when men lose the quality of humility,
when they become cocksure, they may feel that they are above the
rules and principles that apply to others. And in this misconception
they may cast off friends, cast off obligations, cast off principles
and conventions, and use all circumstances to suit themselves, even
as an opportunist. But the opportunist is always, in a sense, in
a precarious position— and may indeed cast off many things, the
need of which he knows not until perhaps he knows the need
a little too late— for the time to make friends is all along the way
of life; the time to build credit is before we are urgently in need
of credit; the time to become acquainted with the Lord God is
before the pressure of necessity is upon us. We ought to establish
the basis of confidence, the basis of credit, the basis of trust, with
our friends, our family, with all men, and with the Lord God before
we find ourselves in too deep a deficit— before we find ourselves
at an inconvenient time, and under urgent necessity seeking for
the credit, the favors, the friendship, the blessings, the understand-
ing, that we shall surely sometime have need to seek.
"The Spoken Word," from Temple Square presented over KSL and the
Columbia Broadcasting System, August 2, 1959. Copyright 1959.
THE IMPROVEMEMT ERA
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763
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split-second decision, I held to my
straight course and shouted back
to the boys, "Take the right chan-
nel," trying to sound confident.
I hesitated until the last possible
instant then lay back as far as pos-
sible to avoid the tangle of vines and
limbs clogging the gap.
The most horrible minutes of my
life followed my entry into the leafy
tunnel. I had just flattened myself
when the kayak smashed to a halt
deep in the growth. Submerged
roots snagged the prow of my boat,
causing it to hqe|f over sharply. In-
stantly the torrent rushed over the
tilted craft, filling and engulfing it.
As the kayak settled, it turned tur-
tle and broke free of the clinging
vegetation. I found myself being
dragged along upside down with my
legs ensnared in the lashings which
secured the bags. I was in poor
condition for the heart-bursting or-
deal which followed. For several
days I had been suffering from an
attack of dysentery which had
sapped my vitality. What strength
remained I had squandered in
the exhausting escapes from the
hippo attacks. To make matters
worse I was momentarily stunned
when the shotgun, which I had
stuck down between the bags of
equipment in the bow, came hurtling
out and struck me full in the face.
When my senses cleared I gave one
mighty heave, desperately summon-
ing all my strength and wrenched
free of the canvas coffin.
As I kicked away from my cap-
sized kayak I was viciously seized
by the madly swirling torrent, which
buffeted and bowled me along in
such overpowering turbulence I was
completely powerless and too dizzy
even to determine in which direction
the surface was. I nearly strangled
as the raging water tore at my hat,
still strapped around my neck. With
both hands I ripped it off with a
fleeting moment of regret and,
ironically, with a picture flashing
across my mind of a sweltering me
in bareheaded misery under a blaz-
ing African sun. My heavy boots
dragged me down like lead weights,
I clawed at them frenziedly to tear
them from my feet, but without suc-
cess. I was drowning, and I knew
it. "So this is the way I go, 'like a
fly being washed down a drain,' '
was my thought as I felt my life
ebbing away.
My fervent petition, "Dear God,
764
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
please help me," seemed miraculous-
ly answered, for I broke the surface
just as my lungs seemed on the verge
of exploding. For a glorious moment
I stayed on top greedily breathing
in great gulps of delicious, resusci-
tating oxygen, then was sucked
under again. The brief "breather"
was all I needed. The will to live
was enkindled, and this, added to a
growing anger at such a needless
death, enabled me to exert every
ounce of strength I possessed in a
final desperate struggle to survive.
I fought back to the surface using
just my arms— kicking only seemed
to make matters worse— and man-
aged to keep from going under
again. As I was swept along down-
stream, wondering how far I could
get before the crocodiles came after
me, I caught a glimpse of the river
behind and saw that I had been
whirled through a stretch of rock-
studded rapids, just beyond the is-
lands; Jean and Andre were nowhere
to be seen. The current, though
still fast and forcible, calmed enough
to let me work my way close to the
right bank where I tried to grab
hold of stalks of papyrus. I made
several attempts before I succeeded
in getting a firm grip and hauled
myself painfully out of the racing
water. I collapsed on a floating
mass of rotting vegetation and lay
there gasping, half dead with fa-
tigue, when through waves of
nausea I felt a jolt then heard an
anxious French voice asking if I was
all right. It was Jean. I rolled over
and said weakly, "I think so, but
where is Andre?" He responded in
silence, gravely holding up a sodden
hat and one dripping bag, all he had
been able to retrieve from the river,
but sufficient evidence to let us
know that Andre had also met with
disaster and perhaps had not been
as fortunate as I.
(To he continued)
IRONY
by Craig Jensen, age 11
Autumn is the time for leaves
To fall and enrich the earth;
Winter is the time I wish
That summer was in birth.
Spring is gay in all her beauty
Rippling through the land;
Summer is the time I wish
That winter was at hand.
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Tobacco and Cancer
(Continued from, page 735)
This work subsequently was corrobo-
rated by two independent workers,
Dr. Auerbach in New York and
Dr. Cowdery and his associates in
St. Louis. Both have shown that
changes which vary according to
the amount one smokes, from chronic
irritation to invasive cancer, occur
in the bronchial mucous membrane
(the lining of the bronchial tubes
where cancer develops). Further-
more, our studies show that these
precancerous changes revert to
normal if smoking is discontinued.
They are reversible. But there does
come a time, as in the case of Evarts
Graham, when they are irreversible.
Dr. Graham and Dr. Wynder did
a very fine piece of experimental
work showing without any question
or doubt that there is a cancer-
producing agent in the smoke of
cigarets. They had a robot-smoking
machine that looked like a giant
candelabrum. It smoked a hundred
cigarets at a time, using the same
method as humans would. Every
sixty seconds it would take a long
drag of two seconds. The smoke
was collected, and a tar residue was
obtained. This was added to a
solvent and applied to the skin of
animals. At the end of eight months,
one non-cancerous tumor developed
at the site of application of the tar
out of about 500 applications. At
the end of the year, one real cancer,
which was indistinguishable from
human cancer in that it spread be-
yond the body and killed the ani-
mal, developed at the site of
application of the tar. At the end
of two years 44 percent of the ani-
mals developed a cancer which was
indistinguishable from human cancer
at the site of application of the tar.
In the control group to which only
the solvent was applied three times
a week, not one animal at the end
of two years developed either a non-
cancerous or a cancerous tumor.
This shows without any question
or doubt that there is in the smoke
from cigarets a cancer-producing
agent.
We know that cancer of the lung
is increasing more than any other
cancer of the body and is now the
most frequent cancer of all. We
also know that there is a cancer-
producing agent in the smoke of
cigarets, and the only logical con-
clusion is that there is a causal
relationship.
I am frequently asked whether
filters help. I always answer in the
affirmative. They do. They help
sell more cigarets. That is all thev
do.
We took five popular brands, four
with filters and one without, and
collected the tar from these five
cigarets. And I would challenge
anyone to pick out the one that does
not have the filter. There is no dif-
ference at all.
I sincerely hope that I can con-
vince all of you, and particularly
you youngsters, never to smoke. I
would say that if any of you do
smoke, you should get an X-ray of
your chest at least every three
months, so that when you do develop
cancer— and you will just as surely
as I am standing here before you—
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GIFT OF SOUND
by Anobel Armour
When I was just a child I knew
The song of birds
And sound of leaves when wind blows through,
All in my mother's words,
Shaped by her patient loving hands.
Through her I found
Music in all our meadowlands,
Though shut away from sound.
Now in the night when I hear stars,
Which takes an ear
Which knows no limit and no bars,
The very hemisphere
Orchestrates infinity,
For silence is a song to me.
766
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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A practical plan for
Food Storage Shelves
by George S. Nelson
Almost all of us realize the im-
portance of preparing for the future—
and of following the counsel of the
leaders of the Church in storing
foodstuffs away against a time of
want— caused either by personal
tragedy of community-wide disaster.
But the ever-present problem has
always been how to store in such
a way that the oldest of the food-
stuffs may always be used first, as
the supply is constantly being re-
plenished with fresher goods.
Bishop Richard S. Tanner of the
Yale Second Ward. Bonneville (Salt
( Continued on page 778 )
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Capacity. t/pte 900 cans
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ALTERNATE ENP
768
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
What's the Hurry
(Continued from page 731)
selfish and self-centered. Mature
love, if it be real, desires not merely
self-satisfaction, but thinks first of
the satisfaction of the mate.
Many young couples overempha-
size the seriousness of problems
which arise in the first years of
their marriage, and, in a sense,
make "mountains out of molehills."
This is not to say there are not
many very serious problems to meet
and solve. But if they will con-
sider such problems together, as
adult people should, if they will
bring all their misunderstandings
out into the open, discuss them
frankly, and in a sort of mutual
compromise face up to the trouble
zones in married life, pinpoint and
analyze them, and keep them in
proper perspective, they may dis-
cover that they have been looking
through magnifying glasses.
Where there is deep and mature
love, which is being nurtured and
jealously guarded, the couple will
confide in each other and discuss
all matters of joint interest— and in
marriage everything should be of
interest to both— they will stand to-
gether in adversity, will lean on,
support, and give strength to each
other. They will find that their
combined strength is more than
double the strength of either one of
them alone. Trouble and adversity,
when jointly met, will strengthen the
marriage and bind the couple to-
gether sometimes more closely than
if all the days were sunshine and
ease. Just "talking things over" goes
far toward reaching a solution, it
keeps the couple in rapport but
if the line of communication be-
tween husband and wife is severed,
by sulking, or temper tantrums, what
was once exuberance and joy gives
wav to indifference, misunderstand-
ing, and, if not corrected, active dis-
like and hatred. Inhibitions and
weakened relationships can be
avoided and stress and strain can
make us stronger if met and handled
on an adult level.
Sincerity and frankness are to
marriage what honesty and integrity
are to business. Their presence in-
sures success; their absence leads to
bankruptcy.
In view of all of this, again we
should ask the question "What's the
hurry?"
tU
cornet to you
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OCTOBER 1959
769
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The Editor s Page
(Continued from page 727)
his personality, that he hears you;
do you feel a power that operates
perhaps as the radio or a greater
power so that you feel that you are
communing with him? You are not
just saying your prayers, you are
praying. Do you know that he is
real, our Savior, the Head of the
Church? I know that he is!
He is a weak man who flies into a
passion, whether he is working a
machine, plowing, writing, or what-
ever he may be doing. A man of the
priesthood should not fly into a pas-
sion. Learn to be dignified. You
THE
SPOKEN
WORD
The ignorance that shuts out
understanding
Richard L. Evans
We spoke last week of happiness, of discontent,
and of the problem of comparisons, and cited this
two-century-old sentence: "If one only wished to
be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but
we wish to be happier than other people and this
is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they
are."1 One of the greatest barriers to happiness is ignorance. And
this we say despite the old saying that "ignorance is bliss." If
it is, it is a bliss founded on false foundations. Happiness should
be, must be— indeed basically has to be— founded on fact— on truth
and intelligence. And today we should like to consider in a few
sentences the ignorance that pertains to the problem of getting
along with people— the ignorance that shuts out understanding—
that creates mistrust, intolerance, and contention. "The earth and
the fulness thereof has been placed at the disposal of Man," wrote
Hendrik Van Loon in his Geography. "This home of ours is a good
home. It produces . . . benefits in . . . abundant measure. . . .
But Nature has her own code of laws. . . . Nature will give unto
us, and she will give without stint, but in return she demands
that we study her precepts and abide by her dictates. It will take
time, it will take . . . slow and painful education to make us find the
true road of salvation. But that road leads towards the conscious-
ness that we are all of us fellow-passengers on one and the same
planet. Once we have got hold of this absolute verity— once we
have realized and grasped the fact that for better or for worse
this is our common home . . . that it therefore behooves us to
behave as we would if we found ourselves on board a train or a
steamer bound for an unknown destination— we shall have taken
the first but most important step towards the solution of that
terrible problem which is at the root of all our difficulties. We
are all of us fellow-passengers on the same planet . . . and we are
all of us equally responsible for the happiness and well-being of
the world in which we happen to live."2 With this awareness we
would plead with all people to penetrate the shadows, to dispel
ignorance and invite understanding— because what affects any of
us affects all of us. And earnestly we need, all of us, under-
standing—understanding ourselves, understanding other people and
their problems. Ignorance is an enemy. It is not happiness. "This
home of ours is a good home"2— but more and more we need to
cross the chasms that keep us from understanding, from com-
municating as man to man, for we are, all of us, fellow-passengers
on the same planet. We need to learn to get along.
"The Spoken Word," from Temple Square presented over KSL and the
Columbia Broadcasting System, August 16, 1959. Copyright 1959.
1Charles cle Secondat Montesquieu.
2Hendrik Willem Van Loon, Van Loon's Geography.
770
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
cannot picture Christ flying into a
passion. Indignant with sin? Yes.
He drove out the moneychangers
when they insulted God and defiled
the temple. Yes, but he was so digni-
fied and noble that when he stood
before Pilate that ruler was impelled
to say: "Behold, the man."
"Whate'er thou art, act well thy
part."
SUNDAY SCHOOL IN AN
OLD MILL
by Louise Darcy
Where once a mill wheel turned,
now Sunday School
Is held above the water as it flows
With steady current; from a nearby
tree
Bright leaves drift down; this scene
of calm repose
Upon a Sabbath day makes Bible
words
Seem very plain, an atmosphere
That offers its abundant loveliness,
The gift of God in autumn of the
year.
These Times
(Continued from page 716)
come to see the United States?
None of the foregoing are root-
causes. Rather they are effects. A
fundamental shift is taking place in
the structure of world power. Fol-
lowing are some of the forces that
have brought the world to the
nervous point, half fearful yet hope-
ful, of the Eisenhower-Khruschev
exchange visits:
1. The rearmament of the United
States and its resumption of the
attitude of strength, very apparent
by 1947.
2. The death of Stalin in 1953,
followed by internal shifts in the
structure of Soviet politics. These
shifts reflected the needs and aspira-
tions of the younger people of a
rising industrial-scientific society.
OCTOBER 1959
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3. Technical developments, par-
ticularly in H-bomb and missile
weaponry. The futility of war be-
came more visible to the ignorant
and unpracticed eyes of men who
formerly thought in terms of places
to hide, of escape. Now there was
no place to hide, no escape.
4. The rise to world power of Red
China, a factor unknown to either
Russia or the world situation in
1945. Russia remembers Genghis
Khan. The world, including Khrus-
chev, contemplates the new China,
also remembering.
5. Most amazing of all, and most
productive of all the forces has been
the utilization of American rearma-
ment and industrial power in un-
precedented ways. The United
States of America, contrary to its
former behavior pattern, led out
after 1945 in measures of collective
security. There was the United Na-
tions organization in New York City.
Its affiliated agencies have all re-
ceived vigorous US support. But
more amazing, the United States
constructed and led out in the forma-
tion of a series of "entangling"
alliances outside of the western
hemisphere: NATO, SEATO, AN-
ZAC, ' and the other world-girdling
pacts. All these alliances pledged
the strength, will, and resources
of the United States to keep the
peace. This will was tested, 1950-53,
in Korea. The United States did
not shrink. It boldly led out in the
third-most costly war of its history,
a war undertaken to maintain princi-
ple.
The alliances have been a bi-
partisan effort and a bipartisan
achievement. The names of Harry
S. Truman and Dean Acheson as
the architects of NATO, as the hard-
tried decision-makers in the Korean
crisis, are linked with those of
Dwight D. Eisenhower as first com-
mander of NATO forces under the
Truman administration, later as Pres-
ident, with John Foster Dulles his
Secretary of State. The "posture" of
strength advocated by George Catlett
Marshall was built. Mr. Dulles'
"brinkmanship" has been used, not
only against protagonists as in Korea,
but it has been used to uphold
principle, as in the Suez crisis,
against our tried and true friends
of Britain and France.
The uses of power are many.
They are complex. But there has
been clear demonstration that
power, dedicated to a durable world
772
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
order, can and will be used in pur-
suit of justice. The Russians under-
stand this.
The task is only begun. Crisis
will yet mount upon crisis. The
crude instruments of world order
are utterly dependent on the intelli-
gence, goodwill, and spirit of the
men who wield them, American,
Russian, or Chinese. The ice often
thickens, is harder, more slick, and
difficult to manage, after a thaw.
This, all must remember.
In the long run the better fire
with which to melt the ice of suspi-
cion, fear, mistrust, and hatred, is
the torch of faith. The greatest
Our mission is to save, to preserve
from evil, to exalt mankind, to bring
light and truth into the world, to
prevail upon the people of the earth
to walk righteously before God, and
to honor him in their lives and with
the first fruits of all their substance
and increase, that their barns may
be filled with plenty and, figuratively
speaking, that "their presses may
burst out with new wine"
President Joseph F. Smith
human conception is the faith
evidenced in the Christian message.
Though the Son of Man gives his
life on the cross, there is no sur-
render, no defeat, no letup. He
rises again and continues the work.
Others follow. The pattern spreads.
If, in these times, men can harness
the relationships between knowl-
edge and faith, guiding the result
with love, the big thaw may con-
tinue.
Ponder well the theme, in the age
of Sputnik: "Ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you
free." No man can be saved in
ignorance. The replacement of ig-
norance with the light of knowledge
of the cold war, and its causes, has
only begun. The light of truth has
constantly to be rekindled in such a
quest. Fear has its necessary uses,
including fear of communism. But
faith in something positive must be
stronger than such fear. The Chris-
tian faith asserts that good can over-
come evil. Such faith is needed in
these times, fortified by ever-grow-
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City & State
OCTOBER 1959
773
1 eacner
fete.
lltitf
V:::. :'?!»'
TVeafe
Today's Family^
Florence B. Pinnock, Editor
"An apple for the teacher," is a time-honored say-
ing. Today let's make a switch and say an apple or
some other treat for the pupil. No, as teachers we
won't be "polishing apples" in the negative sense
of the phrase. But we will in little ways add interest
to our class by surprising the young people with a
treat occasionally. It's good to socialize with the
group and build a "oneness."
When one YWMIA general board member was
speaking to a group of stake leaders she said, "If
you are good enough your ward leaders will attend
leadership meeting," and one class member spoke
up and said, "I am good, but they haven't come the
first time to find out." Another man answered,
"Serve them pie." Of course, he meant have a
party, bring them together as a social unit then they'll
come to leadership meeting and find out how good
the leader really is. So this "piece of pie" or "teacher's
treat" extends to all ages and under different condi-
tions.
To teach is a wonderful calling in our Church. A
teacher has great power. She may even change the
statistics in eternity, but it takes a great deal of
"caring enough." She must care enough to know
each girl personally, to be a friend to every girl, to
prepare a good thought-provoking lesson, to build a
oneness in the group, to be a good example, and to
go the extra mile.
Maybe the extra mile would be an unusual invita-
tion to come to Mutual. One leader wrapped a slice
of thinly cut bread in Saran wrap with this note
enclosed: Dear Jane— Here is the bread. Please come
to Mutual next Tuesday night for the jam. With
love— Sister Carr. She slipped this into an envelope
and sent it on its way. Then the next Tuesday she
held her class in the ward kitchen. While the lesson
774
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
was being given bread was baking
in the oven, timed ready to come
out just ten minutes before class
was over. What a delicious aroma
filled the room and what fun it was
for the girls to cut into the hot bread
and spread it with jam.
Another teacher held her class
before a blazing open fire and fin-
ished off the lesson hour by toast-
ing marshmallows.
Perhaps you would like to seat
your girls around a large table and
toward the end of class pass a big
basket of popcorn, nuts, fruit, or
even a dish of olives and dill pickles.
The girls will love it.
Let's list a few "teacher treats:"
cookies and cold milk
root beer floats
plate filled with candy
a beautiful cake on a high stand
bowl filled with Crunchies (see
March Era for recipe, p. 200.)
basket of popcorn balls
tomato juice and cheese crackers
spiced apple cider
cheese straws and root beer
For a crunchie, hearty cookie try—
Salted Peanut Mounds
(delicious served with milk)
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
% teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup cornflakes
1 cup salted peanuts
Cream shortening and the brown
sugar, then beat in the eggs one at
a time. Sift the flour, soda, salt,
and baking powder and add to
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CARAMEL TWISTS
Ya cup soft Blue Bonnet Margarine or butter
Yi cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
Yi cup chopped Royal Pecans
Ya cup warm, not hot, water
Melt margarine or butter; stir in sugar,
syrup, bring to rolling boil. Spread in large
oblong pan. Sprinkle with pecans. Dissolve
yeast in warm water in mixing bowl. Mix in
Bisquick, beat vigorously. Turn dough onto
board dusted with Bisquick. Knead until
smooth, about 20 times. Roll into 12-inch
square. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted
margarine or butter. Sprinkle center third
with one-half the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
Fold one-third over center third. Sprinkle
with remaining sugar-cinnamon. Fold re-
maining third over the two layers. Cut with
\
1 package Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast
21/2 cups Bisquick
2 tablespoons melted margarine or butter
Ya cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
sharp knife crosswise into strips about one
inch wide. Twist each strip. Seal ends. Place
in pan lYi inches apart. Cover. Let rise in
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OCTOBER 1959
775
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"I have found the
Pilgrim Bible most helpful...
the cross-references invite the com-
parison proper for interpreting Scrip-
ture by Scripture. This combination of
scholarship and simplicity and faith in
the Word is most refreshing."
— Pierson Curtis, Master,
The Stony Brook School, Stony Brook, N. Y
The Pilgrim Bible ex-
plains God's Word while
you read. All notes, helps,
etc. are presented with
utmost simplicity and ap-
pear on the same page
with the verse to which
they refer. Dr. E. Schuyler
English and 37 contrib-
utors produced this an-
notated edition of the
AUTHORIZED KING JAMES
version. In various bind-
ings from $5.50, at your
bookseller. Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 16-00 Pollitt
Drive, Fair Lawn, N. J.
.; ©F THi
0jfl#N
HOLY
BIBLE,
Enjoy
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creamed mixture. Then fold in
vanilla, oatmeal, corn flakes, and
salted peanuts. Put small mounds
on a buttered cookie sheet and flat-
ten with a fork. Bake at 350° F.
Whole Spanish peanuts, brown skins
and all, can be used.
Another good cookie with a more
delicate flavor is called
Pineapple Drops
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs well beaten
1 cup crushed, drained pineapple
4 cups flour (approximately)
Vz teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Cream the shortening and sugar
well together. Add the eggs and
other ingredients. If dough is too
stiff to drop from spoon thin it a
little with pineapple juice. Drop
by teaspoon on a buttered cookie
sheet. Bake at 350° F.
Golden Popcorn Balls
A good popcorn ball recipe comes
in handy on many occasions. An
appropriate Halloween treat would
be popcorn balls.
3 gallons of popped corn
Combine 1 cup dark corn syrup,
1 lb. package of brown sugar, bring
to a good boil, and add 1 square of
butter or margarine. Stir con-
stantly. Bring to a boil again. Add
1 cup evaporated milk and % cup
white sugar. Boil to a soft ball,
stirring. Pour over popcorn and
gently press with buttered hands to
form balls.
These cheese straws are wonder-
ful as a snack treat and are just as
delicious and special served accom-
panying a dainty luncheon salad.
Cheese Straws
y* lb. nippy American cheese
1% cups flour
V2 teaspoon salt
y& teaspoon pepper
y& teaspoon cayenne pepper
xk cup butter
Grate the cheese finely. Sift flour
and seasonings together. Cream
butter until light and fluffy; add the
seasoned flour and cheese. Blend
thoroughly. Let stand in refrigera-
tor at least an hour. Roll pastry Vs
inch thick. Cut into strips 4 inches
long and % inch wide. Lift care-
fully with a spatula and place on
ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle
with paprika. Bake at 400° F. for
about 8 minutes. Be careful not to
brown too much. They burn easily.
Makes about 3 dozen cheese straws.
Spun Peanut Brittle
2 cups white sugar
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup water
Bring to boil with lid on. Remove
lid and cook until it spins a thread.
Add 2 cups salted peanuts and stir,
cook to 300° F. on candy ther-
mometer. Take from heat and add
1 square butter, 1% teaspoons soda
and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Stir. Pour
out onto 3 well-buttered cookie
sheets and begin stretching it out
with forks until it is very, very thin.
Cool. Break into pieces and fill large
basket.
Nut Nibbles
1 lb. salted nuts
1-12 oz. pkg. shredded wheat
squares
1-10 oz. pkg. Cheerio Oats
I-6V2 oz. pkg. rice squares
1 lb. pkg. slip pretzels
1 cup cooking oil
y& lb. melted butter
Season to taste. Some choices are
onion salt, garlic salt, celery salt,
Worcestershire sauce.
Spread out in large pan in oven
and roast for about an hour at
285° F. Stir while cooking.
TREASON WITH REASON
by Annie Laurie Von Tungeln
The fondest mom or daddy
Besieged by twenty hearties
Becomes a shade allergic
To children's birthday parties.
776
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
ON BEING A LADY
A Shining You
In all the world you are the most
important person— to you. You can
never walk away and leave this
person. You can never run away
from her for even a split second.
Already you have lived fourteen,
sixteen, or maybe eighteen years
with her. Is she someone to be
proud of? It's up to you what kind
of girl she is.
Does it please you how she looks?
Let's talk about being worthy to be
looked at, in other words— scrubbed
and shining clean. It is impos-
sible to be too clean. Today's
standards are high, the whole of you
must have that glowing look. In
other ages the standards were dif-
ferent. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
tells of a lady who was thought
to be overfastidious by the other
travelers because she didn't drip
gravy down the front of her dress
when she was eating. She also, it
surprisingly stated, had clean hands.
In the days of King Arthur, people
were pretty careless about washing
their clothes. A person might own
one dress and wear it for years with-
out benefit of a cleaning. There
were no washing machines, clean-
ing fluids, detergents, or deodorants.
Men and women were supposed to
smell like the environment in which
they worked. A cook should smell
of garlic, a coachman of horses, a
//
The Toast of the Town"
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TABLE QUEEN
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Tastes better -
better — because Table Queen
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Try a loaf today — see how good
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FOLDING1
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Direct Prices &
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the easy modern way Each truck
handles cither tables or chairs Construc-
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Transport Storage
Truck No. TS
Write for Discounts and Catalog showing 54 sizes and
types of MONROE Folding Tables, and Trucks. Also
popular line of Folding Chairs.
the "Womoe. COMPANY
249 CHURCH STREET. COLFAX. IOWA
COAT and HAT RACKS
for every Church need
A 4 ft. (S-4-CT) Checkerette pro-
vides ventilated hat shelves and
either 24 coat hangers or 32 coat
hooks. A double (D-4-CT) Checker-
ette of equal length accommodates
48 on hangers or 64 on hooks. Both
can be set-up anywhere or dis-
assembled in less than a minute
without nuts, bolts or tools, can be
stored like folding chairs, or will
stand rigid for years. The double
Checkerette comes on large casters
for easy movement when it is
assembled. Checkerettes can be
assembled "high" for robes or vest-
ments, "normal" for adult wraps or
"low" for children. Checkerette
Wall Racks come in 2, 3 and 4 ft.
lengths and will accommodate up to
12 coats and hats per running foot.
They are mounted on wall at
proper heights for each age
group. Write for Bulletin CT- 690
showing these and other
modern steel wardrobe units.
VOGEL-PETERSOK COMPANY
The Coat Rack People
1127 West 37th Street, Chicago 9. Illinois
ran f :T i *--1l\ * *i
Your people will buy
Messenger's Historical
Art Calendar on sight.
This is the calendar
especially designed
and produced for the
Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints.
Wards and Stakes can
makeup to 100% profit.
A proven and tested
fund-raising program
for quorums and or-
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Mail coupon for full
particulars.
~'~[ Messenger Histori-
/ cal ArtCalendarhas
/ brief scriptural mes-
/ sage for Latter-Day
I Saints for each day
of the year together
/ with 13 appropriate
/ art reproductions
, ? / in full, natural color.
/ Also historical data,
'"' I etc. The Ten Com-
.?? u / mandments on the back
■a J, / cover in beautiful Old
j - ■ / English lettering with
■pi colored border — suit-
~*s*&i» able for framing.
PRICES: Single copy 454; 3 copies $1.25;
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50 copies $15.00.
Write today for better prices on larger
quantities and for proven sales plan.
^ ^j7rV^-
Francis Proctor
1051 E. 21st, South, Salt Lake City 6, Utah
Please send at once
Art Calendars for I960.
Enclosed is remittance of $.
.Messenger Historical
□
Please send free information on Ward and
Stake sales plan.
Name.
Address.
City
State.
OCTOBER 1959
777
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Write or call now for full details.
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Visit us during conference
\}.&\jJ,lA/kole5ale IJjLstributoM
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If no answer, call CY 8-4681
University of Utah
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A delightful
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AT YOUR GROCERS
778
glue maker of glue. But today we
are judged differently. This world
is clean-conscious. How clean are
you right now? Two boys were
talking about a dance they had at-
tended. One boy said, "I don't like
to dance with her." The other boy
asked, "Why? She dances well."
The first fellow came back with,
"That's right, but her hair smells."
And just to hear him say it you were
sure it didn't smell sweet. Clean,
shining hair is a halo everyone can
afford to have. To be popular, to
make good first impressions let your
goal be— a shining self. This must
include all of you, your ears, neck,
teeth, elbows, heels, fingernails,
complexion, and clothes. You can't
be almost clean. You either are or
you aren't. There is no halfway to it.
That wonderful, refreshing, spark-
ling liquid called water is yours to
use. Add soap and lather it, and
away go dirt, sweat, dust, and bac-
teria, and out comes a sweet, sweet
you. Then clothe yourself in spot-
less apparel, and you are ready to
meet the world on its top level.
Food Storage Shelves
(Continued from page 768)
Lake City) Stake, asked the writer
to find a solution to the difficulty of
knowing which cans to use first. The
storage unit, as seen in the drawing,
was easy to make and assemble, and
the materials cost about $20.00.
It presents the following advan-
tages to its user:
1) Up to sixty varieties of cans
may be readily seen.
2) Old and new cans may be dis-
tinguished by a system of dating.
3) The oldest cans are used first,
before the newest cans become
readily available.
4 ) The fullest use of space is made
as the oldest cans and the newest
cans occupy the same row.
5) New cans are inserted behind
the old cans with a minimum of
effort.
6) Cans are rotated by a one-
third turn each time a can in a given
row is removed. (The periodic mov-
ing of the cans' contents is considered
a must in keeping stored foods
usable.)
7) Other shelves may be built at
the side of the can storage shelves,
thereby providing maximum stor-
age space in a minimum area.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Creating Classroom
Atmosphere
(Continued from page 749)
one of the many commandments
given to the Prophet Joseph Smith
and our Church leaders concerning
the need of gaining an education
and developing our intelligences and
to "seek learning, even by study and
also by faith. "-
The many techniques and methods
that could be employed in adapting
this third principle are legion, and it
would require more space than this
article would allow here to discuss.
However, "students learn by doing"
was the finding of one great educa-
tor, and in the gospel that we teach
our students need to see the relation-
ship of what is being taught to the
everyday problems they are experi-
encing in life. This can often be
accomplished by using group dynam-
ics or group activities in the solving
of class problems suggested by the
teacher. Here-and now-situations in
religion will assist students to see the
real value and necessity for making
a serious study of the gospel.3
Fourth, do we build group morale?
Every teacher knows the value of
team spirit. We see it in our local
schools and colleges, particularly
during a major sporting event. The
armed forces called it esprit de
corps. It is that certain intangible,
proud feeling that fills the breast of
an individual because "he belongs."
As teachers we should try to develop
this same spirit of enthusiasm and
dedication in class— a concern for
each other, the "we" concept: a loy-
alty to the group, the kind of class
that provides opportunities for
shared spiritual experiences which
brings each participant back to the
class week after week not because
he is commanded or forced to go
but because he would not want to
miss the experience for anything.
Good Latter-day Saints are de-
veloped out of religious experiences.
If we as teachers are to assist the
Church in developing Christlike per-
sons, it is necessary for us to provide
opportunities for Christlike experi-
ences through the kind of atmosphere
we create in our classrooms.
^D&C 88:118.
xHere-and-nou)-situation is a term used by the
writer to describe the modern application of an
ancient or earlier principle to a present situation.
INTRIGUING AROMA! When Big Boy's nostrils twitch with delight, ten to one
he's succumbed to the tantalizing aroma of Rancho Chicken Noodle, Vegetable,
Cream of Mushroom or our other fine Rancho Soups. Rancho Soups have a way
with men. Why not find out tonight? Enjoy his beaming smile!
OCTOBER 1959
779
Ward Teaching Supplement
GIFT OF THE
HOLY GHOST
One of the great needs of man is companionship.
God has so ordered things that we can enjoy this
blessing all of our lives. We come into the world,
born of mothers who become our first companions
and friends, offering love and security. Our fathers,
brothers, and sisters are also immediately part of
our lives, and the circle soon extends to include other
relatives and friends. As we grow older our number
of associates increases until that very decisive point
when we select a special companion for all eternity.
Then come children of our own, grandchildren,
in-laws, friends and acquaintances. We seek and
are able on different levels to make ourselves one
with society, to "fit in," to want and be wanted, to
appreciate and be appreciated, to love and be loved.
There is one very special companionship to which
we are entitled through, our membership in the
Church. That is the companionship of the Holy
Ghost. This gift we receive through the laying on of
hands of authorized servants of God. This compan-
ionship is different from all others, but like the others,
it must be cultivated if we are going to get maximum
benefit. This we can do by keeping ourselves close
to the Lord, keeping his commandments and letting
our lives be guided by his will. If we do this humbly
and sincerely, we are promised that we ivill walk, as
did the apostles of old, with this Spirit of Truth as
our constant companion.
And what a blessing that is. Through the Holy
Ghost we learn, we understand, we are comforted. We
receive witness— so essential to salvation— that Jesus
Christ is indeed our Savior. (John 15:26.) We gain
testimonies of the divinity of this gospel and perceive
our responsibilities and privileges in relation to it.
When temporary setbacks come upon us, we have the
assurance that the Lord is watching over us and that
it is he who knows what is the best for us in the
larger scheme of things. We are strengthened when
all else fails. We gain insight into the personality of
God, himself, and can begin to form a rewarding
companionship with him, also.
About the physical being and personal characteris-
tics of the Holy Ghost, our knowledge is limited: he
is a Personage of spirit, a Being separate and distinct
from the Father and the Son. About the working of
his spirit in our lives we can know much, and the
more we know the less concerned we become with
that which we don't know and the more interested
we are in trying to live up to that which we do.
From one end of life to the other, we form com-
panionships, associations, friendships— and remember
these as some of the choicest of our earthly experi-
ences. Here, too, we must be discriminating and
selective, for the number we can form is of necessity
limited. We should not, in our process of selection,
overlook the Holy Ghost, for his companionship can
become the most rewarding we know. It is right that
we do this, for only in this way can we develop
the attributes of Deity necessary that we might some
day enjoy the presence of Deity.
780
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
BISHOPS
have great responsibility as leaders of wards
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
is a church of marvels. Some of its institutions,
achievements, and characteristics cause members as
well as nonmembers occasionally to pause in awe.
And of all the wonders of the Church, few are more
wondrous than the bishop.
His calling is at the same time one of the most
demanding and one of the most rewarding in the
Church. He spends unnumbered hours weekly in
Church activities of every imaginable description.
Indeed, although he has counselors and others to
assist him, a bishop properly fulfilling his calling
seems so busy that he can scarcely call his life his
own. Anything less than complete dedication is
inadequate.
But satisfactions are present also, and the joy re-
ceived more than compensates for the time and effort
required. A bishop is the temporal and spiritual
guardian of several hundred souls— the father of the
ward. As long as he is in office, virtually everything
that concerns them concerns him. Their joys become
his joys, their disappointments his disappointments,
their problems his problems. Indeed, he must often
solve these problems.
Bishops have always been special people. The office
has always demanded much:
"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of
one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given
to hospitality, apt to teach;
"Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy
lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
"One that ruleth well his own house, having his
children in subjection with all gravity." (I Tim. 3:2-4.)
Notice particularly in this enumeration of desirable
characteristics by Paul the following: "vigilant," "of
good behaviour," "apt to teach," "patient."
A bishop is many things. Under varying circum-
stances, he might be a judge, a speaker, an organizer,
a confessor, a teacher, a public relations man, a record-
keeper, an adviser, a builder, a nurse, or any one of a
myriad of other things. He is a specialist in the gos-
pel, in finance, in management, in human relations.
He adapts and re-adapts himself daily to different
people in different situations; he must instinctively
do and say the right thing. Quite a challenge? It is.
But the overwhelming majority of our bishops bring
it off in grand fashion ... in their spare time.
For bishops are working men. They are farmers,
businessmen, doctors, and teachers. They are
merchants, laborers, scientists, and contractors . . .
craftsmen, architects, ranchers, and lawyers. In
the Church there are 2700 of them, and all are bishops
plus. None can devote full time to his Church work.
If he did, the family (and bishops are family men)
would suffer. There is no salary connected with the
office of bishop.
How do they do it? The answer lies buried deep in
the genius of the Church organization and the Mor-
mon people.
The priesthood is the backbone of the Church, and
in the priesthood there are many callings— each with
well-defined responsibilities and duties. The office of
bishop is one of these. A bishop holds the Mel-
chizedek Priesthood but supervises and presides over
the Aaronic Priesthood in his ward, just as the Pre-
siding Bishop presides over the Aaronic Priesthood
in the entire Church. A bishop also presides over
the ward as such, and it is in this capacity that most
of us come to know him.
Latter-day Saints grow up with the priesthood.
They respect its authority, and accept the bishop in
his position, knowing instinctively that he is the right
man for the job because he is there. They support
him as such.
Not that our bishops are perfect. None of us is,
not even these. But they are good men, devoted
and dedicated men, men who have put service to the
kingdom of God first in their lives. They are men
who have been given and have accepted a tremendous
assignment, and who need and merit the support of
each of us.
How can we give them this support? First, of
course, by doing that which they ask us to do. There
is too much work in any ward for one individual, or
three individuals, even if they are all supermen. Next
time the bishop asks, "Can you help us here?" or
"Will we be able to count on you for this?" there
should be but one answer. Surely, most of us are
busy. But few of us are as busy as he is.
What else can we do? We can live the gospel, obey
the commandments, support the Church. This will
bring him real joy. A bishop seeing a member of
his ward live the gospel enjoys the same sensation as
a parent witnessing a son or daughter growing up in
righteousness.
What else? Another suggestion. . . . Next time you
see your bishop, tell him that you appreciate what he's
doing and the honor you have of associating with
him. Most of us have such thoughts, but few of us
ever get around to expressing them. We should; it
might frighten him a bit, but he'll appreciate and
remember it.
OCTOBER 1959
781
x"7
MEICHIZEDEK ^
PRIESTHOOD i*T
Are Your
Servicemen
Forgotten
Men?
At one of the large military bases in western Amer-
ica, a seasoned major general stood before his troops
and addressed them as their post commander. He
had been through the army "mill"; he knew the pit-
falls of military service. He knew what character-
istics and abilities it took to make real soldiers, and
the kind of men who should be chosen to take com-
mand of every unit from the squad to the division.
To the thousands who stood ready to obey his
commands, he said in substance: "All Latter-day Saint
returned missionaries, two paces forward. Now all
you other men, take a look at these fellows. Learn
who they are; remember them. They are going to
be your leaders. You follow their examples; and
what you see them do, you may do."
This or an equivalent announcement was made,
not once, but many times— at various formations, in
classroom lectures, out on field problems, at military
entertainments. At the height of the Korean War
there were from 1000 to 1500 Latter-day Saint breth-
ren stationed at this one base at all times. Among
them, at all times, were from 200 to 400 returned
missionaries. And these brethren were the leaders
because they lived their religion and practised the
principles of industry, devotion, and diligence which
they had learned in the mission field.
"When I was in the army serving in Korea," re-
ports one of the top officials in one of our stakes, "I
had almost no interest in the Church. I used to go
out with the fellows and carouse around a lot. One
day I planned to go into town with a group of
fellows from my battery, go to a certain place. * * *
Just before we left I got in the mail a book written
by President Joseph Fielding Smith which my family
had sent me. I glanced through it, began to read
a little, soon got interested, and did not go out with
the other fellows where I certainly would have lost
782
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
my virtue. As time went on, I read more and more,
became interested in the Church, and changed my
habits and interests. I am most grateful for that
contact with the Church, which did as much as any-
thing ever did to keep me on the strait and narrow."
Nor is this happening an isolated occurrence. There
are many known cases where letters from home or
from a priesthood quorum, or where copies of the
Church News or The Improvement Era or other items
of church literature, have kept lonely servicemen
from doing things they would have regretted all
their lives.
These two true stories make us wonder if we are
doing all we should to look after the spiritual well-
being of our young brethren in the armed services.
It is true that this is peacetime. There are not
nearly as many of our brethren in uniform as has
been the case in recent years. But the draft still con-
tinues, and all of our young men still have a military
commitment that spans a number of years.
Upwards of 50,000 of the youth of Zion are still
actively participating in military programs, with
thousands of these brethren still in their teens. Some
12,000 to 15,000 of them are on active duty in one
branch of the service or another. Several times this
number are bound by law and regulation to partici-
pate regularly in drills and training given by national
guard and reserve units.
The temptations facing young men, whether they
are away from home in the service or are getting
their military training on a part-time basis, is the
same as it has always been.
The Church, of course, has an affirmative and effec-
tive program to care for the spiritual well-being of
its brethren in the service. The only problem is
whether those charged with the responsibility for
carrying this program forward are doing all they
should for these brethren who so easily can become
forgotten men.
Stake and mission presidents are responsible for
the spiritual well-being of every Latter-day Saint
serviceman stationed in their areas. They are to ap-
point servicemen's committees to carry forward the
detail of the work. Servicemen's groups— organiza-
tions equivalent to branches— are provided for our
brethren at the various military bases. These breth-
ren are invited to participate in the religious and
social programs of nearby wards and branches. Ex-
tensive organizations are functioning well in West
Germany, the Far East, aboard various ships, and in
the various states and nations of the world. Prob-
ably the best and most effective work with our
servicemen is performed in these outlying areas.
But where we fall down as a people, more than
we should, is in giving the proper support and en-
couragement from home. Priesthood quorums, for
instance, should write a personal letter each month
to all of their brethren away in the service. These
letters, from time to time, should contain some of our
proselyting literature, which may be obtained from
stake mission presidents without cost. Quorums
should send, also, from their own funds, a subscrip-
tion to the Church News and The Improvement Era to
each of their brethren.
Before a young man enters the service, he should
be interviewed by his bishop and given a copy of the
little pamphlet, "So You Are Going into Military
Service." Interviews should cover:
1. Maintenance of Church standards.
2. Understanding of the gospel.
3. Arrangement for exchange of correspondence.
4. Attending Church organizations at nearby
branches and servicemen's groups.
5. Instruction for boys on how to use tracts.
6. If boy has been endowed, read him the letter
of the First Presidency, dated October 2, 1950, rela-
tive to wearing of garments in service.
7. Encourage him to take extension courses from
Brigham Young University while he is in the service.
Bishops also make a report on their servicemen so
that such brethren may receive various items of
literature from the general servicemen's committee,
including their copies of the servicemen's sets— a
special edition of the Book of Mormon and the little
book, Principles of the Gospel. Of course, bishops
correspond monthly with their servicemen, and where
the Aaronic Priesthood and unordained brethren are
concerned see that proper Aaronic Priesthood quo-
rums send subscriptions to The Improvement Era
and Church News.
Through the servicemen's program we hope to look
after the spiritual well-being of all our brethren in
the service and so to guide and direct them that they
will be true to the Church and keep the command-
ments. Through this course they will be leaders
while in the service and will prepare themselves for
continued service in God's earthly kingdom when
their period of military service is over.
Are you doing your part in this great work?
OCTOBER 1959
783
The Last Word
And why are we so anxious to conquer outer space
when we haven't even solved the parking problem yet?
After a day of complete harassment, the mother
shook her finger at her small, ornery boy. "All right,
Junior," she shouted. "Do anything you please. Now
let me see you disobey that."
Inquired the prospective purchaser: "Can I stick
this wallpaper on myself?"
Replied the salesman: "Well, yes; but it will look
much better on the wall!"
The wind of anger blows out the lamp of intelli-
gence
The only way to compel men to speak good of you
Voltaire
is to do good.
An elevator operator had a rather hectic day and
her patience was strained.
"What would happen if the cables broke— would
we go up or down?" a lady called out.
"Madam," the operator sighed, "that would depend
entirely on what kind of life you've led."
The toughest form of mountain climbing is getting
out of a rut.
It is silly to argue that swimming develops form
and grace; have you ever watched a duck walking?
This concerns three letters of which we have re-
cently heard. The first is from a newly recruited
salesman. It reads:
"Dear Boss: I seen this outfit which they ain't
never bought a dime's worth of nothing from us, and
I sole them a couple hundred thousand dollars worth
of goods. I am now going to Chiaugo."
The second letter from the same salesman, dated
two days later, said: "I came hear and I sole them
half a milyon."
The third letter was from the company president.
Enclosures were copies of the other two letters. It
was addressed to all the sales force and read:
"We been spendin two much time hear tryin to
spel insted of trying to sell. Lets watch those sails.
"I want every body should read these leters from
Gooch, who is on the road doin a grate job for us,
and you should go out and do like he done."
— Quote
784
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
COPR. 1959, VAN CAMP SEA FOOD COMPANY
Len it comes to tuna... it pays to buy the best
NUTWICHES . . Mix White Star
brand tuna (Family Size) with mayonnaise.
Add chopped nuts, celery and green pepper
for crunchiness. Spread on fresh whole
wheat, rye or white - or slender french
bread slices for a special party treat.
Tuna costs so little in comparison to other foods, it makes sense
to serve the finest -the prime fillet tuna -White Star! No other
tuna is pressure-baked in the special way that keeps White Star
so moist, tender and delicate in flavor. Try the new Family Size
for generous main dishes, salads — and sandwiches for lunch at
home or school. Never take a chance on an unknown brand of
tuna. You only get a bargain when you buy the best.
Finest chunk light tuna
in regular size, too!
Those who prefer Fancy Pack
use our solid light tuna . . .
White Star Tuna
WHITIaSTAI 1 ..WtfifM?
TWHA
TUNA
■
Trick or
Treat?
J'
if *. w ^
* • ••«'%»
I ■.:■
• « • #
The choice is yours
When your youngsters reach the age for
advanced education ... or when your wife is
suddenly faced with the responsibility of
raising your family without your steady income
... or when you reach retirement age and want
to take things easy and enjoy life to its fullest
. . . will it be "trick or treat" for you and your
family? It would be a cruel "trick," indeed,
to have to face any of these situations without
the financial resources that only life insurance
can provide so well, at a cost that virtually
every family can afford.
:
New Beneficial L ife plans offer greater
benefits . . .
Now Beneficial Life Insurance plans offer
unequaled flexibility to suit your needs.
Among them are the Family Benefactor Plan
(provides insurance for every member of
the family); the Planned Futures Program
(provides funds for all of the various needs
you anticipate now or in the future); and the
Commercial Whole Life Plan (gives you
insurance in amounts of $10,000 or more at
bargain rates) . Let your Beneficial agent advise
you about the plan best' suited to your needs
and income.
Dept. E1059
3eneficial Life Insurance Co.
3eneficial Building
Salt Lake City, Utah
Please send information about the following plans — with no obligation, of course.
2] Planned Futures □ Family Benefactor Plan □ Commercial Whole Life □ Other
Name
Street or R. F. D
Citv Zone State
BENEFICIAL LIFE
VF7jif7ffr7ff/T7mt
Virgil H. Smith, Pres.
Salt Lake City, Utah
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